


The Things I Do For You

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: I can't write fight scenes to save my life though, I guess violence, M/M, Minor Violence, Romance, Suicide Attempt, rated for last chapter, that has yet to be written sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 14:35:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1071603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred F. Jones lives a normal life in Los Angeles, California. He has amazing friends and he's shooting to be a professional surfer. One day, Los Angeles High gets a transfer student. He's shy, but extremely intimidating. And he's... Russian? Alfred soon learns that not everyone in the world are nice, and he has to be the hero and save this strange Russian from bullies. They become friends, but soon after, Alfred begins to feel... strange whenever he's around him. And he doesn't know what to do about it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

/briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing/ " Alright, have a good weekend class, and I'll see you all on monday." Alfred groaned in relief as the bell rang and students filed out of the classroom. Finally, it was Friday. Two whole days of no school, it was what all students were anticipating once the week starts. Running a hand through his hair, Alfred stood up and grabbed his bag, following the last of his classmates out of the classroom.

" Oi, Alfred!" A voice called, and Alfred turned around, promptly being tackled by his albino friend, Gilbert. " God Damned you Gil, if I have to tell you not to do that one more time, I'm gonna kill you!" Alfred said, shoving Gilbert off of him. He shrugged. " Eh, who gives a fuck if I like to tackle people? It pisses 'em off, so I'm up for it!" Alfred rolled his eyes. " Maybe so, but it makes us look gay. We don't want that, now do we?" Gilbert just shrugged again.

" Eh, I don't really care. I've had my eyes on that brother of yours for a while now." He said, walking to his locker. Alfred followed him, glaring daggers into the back of his head. " Stay away from Mattie. I don't need your dumb ass corrupting him." Gilbert gasped, mocking hurt. " What? Now where do you get I'd corrupt your little bro? I'd do nothing of the sort!"

" Mmhmm, like you "wouldn't do nothing of the sort" when you came onto Feliciano at that party a few months ago, and your brother punched the hell out of you?" Alfred grinned at the slight pout on Gilbert's face as the albino rubbed his jaw. " Whatever, all I did was rub that curl of his then he got all flustered and stuff, so what kind of guy would I be to pass up an opportunity to fuck his tight italian ass into a mattress?"

Out of nowhere, a hand came down on Gilbert's head and slammed it into the cold navy metal of the lockers. A pained shout came from his mouth as he jumped away from the potential danger and rubbed his forehead. Alfred was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. " Ahahaha, dude, I forgot to mention that Ludwig was right behind you! You're a retard, man!"

Gilbert looked up with a heavy scowl on his face. " Damned you, Ludwig! Why the hell did you shove my fa-" " I ever hear you talking about Feliciano like that again and it'll be much worse." Ludwig said, flexing his knuckles. " You're just lucky he wasn't here to hear that come out of your mouth." Gilbert audibly gulped, nodding. If there was anyting in this world that scared the hell out of him, it was his older brother.

" So, guys, anything planned for this weekend?" Alfred asked, effectively breaking the slight tension between the two. Gilbert immediately perked back up. " Oh yeah! That's what I wanted to tell you abo-" " Antonio is throwing a party tomorrow night." Ludwig interrupted Gilbert, causing the younger to flush in anger. " Stop stealing my thunder, West!" He snapped, and Ludwig narrowed his eyes. " Stop calling me West. You live out here too now, so it makes no sense."

Alfred mentally facepalmed at the memory. Gilbert hadn't always lived there in California. He used to live in Nevada, east of California. So Gilbert came up with the idea to call his brother West, even though Ludwig disapproved and never called him East. " Ah, don't be so uptight about it. Anyway, yeah, 'Toni's having a party tomorrow night, and you should totally come. It's gonna be awesome! Even more awesome since I'm gonna be the DJ." Gilbert said.

Alfred smiled. " Damn straight I'm gonna be there! Who else you got coming?" " Ludwig's bringing Feliciano, Toni's trying to convince the other italian to come-" " Lovino?" " -Yeah, whatever his name is. And I'm pretty sure Roderich is bringing Elizabeta, and I don't know who else Toni invited." Alfred nodded. " Sure, I'm up for it. Plus, whats a party without a hero?" At this, both Ludwig and Gilbert rolled their eyes and walked off.

" H-hey! Where're you guys going?" Alfred called after them, and Gilbet called back, " Stop pretending you're a hero, dude. You're being narcissistic." Alfred's eye twitched. Him, narcissistic? If anything, it was that stupid german! He was always going around telling people he's awesome and shit. Alfred shook his head. It wasn't worth fighting over. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder, then walked out of the building and to his shared apartment down the street.

Once he got there, he walked in and threw his bag on the couch, calling out for his brother. " Yo Mattie, you here?" A slight thud came from the bathroom, then the door opened and his brother walked out. " Yeah, I'm here, Alfred. How was your day?" Alfred smiled. " It was great, and I found out that Antonio is having a party tomorrow night, you in or what?" Matthew bit his lip. " I don't know, Alfred, party scenes aren't really my-" " Ah, you don't know what you're saying, of course you're coming! I'll even drive if you want me too." The thought of Alfred behind the wheel of his car was enough to give Matthew chill bumps.

" N-no, I'll drive." He shuddered, and Alfred beamed. " So it's a yes! That's great, and you have to wear the best clothes you got!" He said happily. Matthew's eye twitched. " You tricked me!" He said, and Alfred shook his head. " Nah, you want to come. So, hows about you go make some pancakes, dude?" Matthew sighed. " Pancakes for dinner, Alfred, really?" " Yeah, I like your pancakes! Can't get enough!" Alfred said, sitting on the couch and turning the TV on. Matthew sighed. " Well if you put it that way, then fine, I'll make you some pancakes." He said, then headed into the kitchen.

Alfred only nodded absently as he put the TV on the surfing channel. Yes, there was an entire channel dedicated to surfing. And he loved it. He had always wanted to be a surfer when he was growing up, and once he got a board, Alfred thought about nothing but the ocean. He may sem like the type of person who'd be more comfortable sitting at home in sweat pants and playing video games, but what Alfred truly loved was water. He loved it with a passion. He had been only five when he surfed his first wave, on the back of his dad's board.

But then that same year, his dad had an accident that ended his life. There was a shallow place off the coast that was called 'Dead Man's Cross' for a reason. The bottom wasn't purely sand, rather than sharp coral with a thin layer of sand over it. His dad had entered a surfing competition, and when there were no waves, all the other contestants forfeited. That alone caused his dad to win, but he didn't want to win like that. So once he saw a big enough wave, he went for it. But he had apparently forgotten that Dead Man's Cross was just to the right of the competition waters, and when he hit the wave, he coasted to the right. The wave had turned out to be fairly small, so when it broke, it was just off the shoreline, and his dad had crashed into Dead Man's Cross. He had been impaled countless times by the coral bed that lied there, and was pronounced dead immediately.

Alfred hadn't gone back into the ocean for nearly eight years after that. But Matthew had re-introduced the wonderful sensation of being in the water when he tricked Alfred into diving into the water, thinking Matthew was drowning. After that, Alfred decided to follow in his father's footsteps, and become a professional surfer.

" Alfred, the pancakes are done." Matthew said, standing in front of the TV and blocking the screen. Alfred snapped out of his trance-like state, then smiled. " Thanks, Mattie. I really do love your pancakes, man." He said, getting up and following Matthew into the kitchen. The two ate in comfortable silence, and when they were done, Alfred offered to do the dishes. " What made you suddenly nice?" Matthew asked, looking at his brother strangely. Alfred shrugged, " Eh, I just feel like doing something right now."

After Alfred was done with the dishes, he realized just how tired he was. " Damn, Mattie, I think I'm about to give out. I'm gonna go to bed early." " Alfred, it's nearly twelve o'clock, that's not early." Matthew said, and Alfred just yawned. He stood and walked to his bedroom, stripping down and changing into a clean pair of boxers, then brushed his teeth and walked back to the living room, where Matthew was still watching TV. " Mattie, if it's really so late as you say, then why don't you go to bed?" He asked, and Matthew pointed to the screen. " National hockey championships."

" Ah." Matthew was just as crazy about hockey as Alfred was about surfing, if not worse. Alfred leaned over the back of the couch and kissed his brother's forehead. " 'Night, Mattie." " Goodnight, Alfred." With that, Alfred walked back to his room and lied down on his bed, pulling the covers up to his chin and, after wiggling around for a few minutes, fell asleep.


	2. 2

The next day, Alfred was woken up by knocking. He groaned and climbed out of bed, eyes still clouded with sleep, and staggered to the front door. He opened it, scowling at the person standing there. " Wha' d'you want, Arthur? You got any idea wha' time it is?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. Arthur glared. " I think you mean do YOU have any idea what time it is. It's nearly 2 o'clock, Alfred, you should be out on the beach practicing your-" " Nah, relax Artie, I don't need to practice this weekend." Alfred interrupted his childhood friend, " Besides, I have a party to go to tonight."

Arthur rolled his eyes and pushed past Alfred and into the house. " Don't call me that. Your brother may not mind your stupid nicknames, but I'll be damned if you start calling me by one. And I'm not going to let you throw away your dreams just to go to a useless party and waste yout tim-" " Aw, c'mon Arthur, loosen up." Alfred said, his voice almost a whine, and threw his arm around Arthur's shoulders.

Arthur sighed and pulled away from Alfred's grip. " I'm not going to 'loosen up' and let you forget what you want to do with your life." He said. " Just how am I going to forget what I want to do with my life by going to this party? And besides, just because you're older than me doesn't mean you can boss me around." Alfred said, giving the other a pointed look.

" ... Fine, go. But you're just going to have to practice twice as hard on Monday." Arthur said, crossing his arms. Alfred pouted. " Aw, c'mon! You already know I'm good, why do you push me so hard?" " If I didn't push you hard enough, you wouldn't try, and therefore you wouldn't get better. There's always room for improvement, no matter how good you are."

Just as Alfred was about to reply, the front door opened and Matthew walked through holding s couple bags. " Oh, hey Mattie, I didn't realize you'd gone out." Alfred said, and Matthew sighed. " You never realize I'm gone. I just had to go out and buy some cloth- Oh, hello, Arthur." " Hello, Matthew. Do you need some help there?" Arthur offered his hand, but Matthew blushed slightly and shook his head. " Ah, n-no, I don't need any help, thank you..." Alfred raised an eyebrow and snatched a bag away from his brother.

" A-Alfred!" Matthew grabbed for the bag, but Alfred had already pulled it's contents out. " Dude, did you seriously go out and buy new clothes for this party? Who're you trying to impress, Mattie? The queen of England?" Matthew blushed a deep red and took the red plaid shirt from Alfred, stuffing it back in the bag. Arthur smacked Alfred's arm. " Don't say things like that." He said, glaring at the other.

Alfred laughed, remembering how touchy the subject of England was with Arthur. He'd moved to California at the age of seven, even though he really didn't want to leave England. He'd always said that one day he was going back, and didn't really focus on American economy that much. He still had a slight accent, too. Come to think of it, most of everyone Alfred was friends with had some kind of accent. If it wasn't because they had moved from some other country, it was because their parents had, and they picked the accent up from them.

" Oh just shut up." Arthur said. Matthew cleared his throat. " So, Arthur, are you going to Antonio's party, too?" He asked, and Arthur shook his head. " No, I don't think I would be welcome to. The last time I went to one of his parties, I broke a couple things that were really expensive..." Arthur trailed off, looking around awkwardly. " Dude, you had a good reason to do that. Francis was drunk off his ass and doing everything he could to get your pants off of you-" " Please don't bring that up, Alfred!" Arthur said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

" What I'm trying to say is, I'm sure Antonio understood why you had to break those things over Francis's head." Alfred finished, patting Arthur's shoulder. " So, you going or what?" Matthew looked a little uncomfortable, and so he excused himself, heading to his room. " I suppose... I could go. As long as that bloody frog won't be there!" Arthur said, and Alfred rolled his eyes. " Y'know, Francis isn't all that bad once you get to know him. When he's not drunk and trying to get some, he's actually a pretty nice guy. Romantic, too."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Alfred. " Don't fall into his trap, Alfred." He said lowly, and Alfred laughed. " Ah, please. I don't roll that way, dude. So what, you aren't wearing THAT tonight, are you?" He asked, motioning to Arthur's clothes. " What's wrong with what I'm wearing right now!?" Arthur exclaimed, looking down at his clothes. " What's wrong with a green t-shirt and black jeans?" Alfred looked at Arthur with a look that said 'are you serious?'. " Arthur...have you BEEN to Antonio's parties? Everybody there usually decks themselves out in the most extreme clothes ever. We HAVE to get you some new clothes."

With that, before Arthur could protest, Alfred grabbed Matthew's car keys and called, " Mattie, I'm using your car, be back later!" Matthew paled when he heard this, but before he could catch Alfred, they were already out the door and in his car. He watched as Alfred backed out of the parking lot, almost plowing into the car on the other side of the street. Matthew groaned and slid down the wall. " Oh my god... I hope he doesn't hurt my car..."

~~~~page break~~~

Arthur glared at the pile of clothes Alfred had loaded his arms down with. " Alfred, I highly doubt all of these things are neccessary JUST for a party-" " Just try 'em on! I want to see how they look on you afterwards, too." Alfred called from outside the dressing room. Arthur sighed. " You're starting to sound like my mother." He muttered, picking up a pair of jeans from the pile.

After squeezing into them, he looked at himself in the full-length mirror that was in the dressing room. " Alfred, are these jeans supposed to fit like this...?" He asked, opening the door. Alfred beamed at him. " Yeah! You've never heard of skinny jeans? They look great, by the way. Maybe they need to be a little tighter, though..." Arthur gave a look of disbelief. " If these things get any tighter, they'll castrate me! No, this size is perfectly fine." He said, closing the door.

After a few more pairs of jeans and some shirts, Alfred and Arthur checked out of the shop and headed back to the car. " And this time I'LL drive. You nearly killed us twice." Arthur said, getting in the front seat and starting the car. " Yeah yeah, whatever." Alfred said, hopping in the passenger seat. " So, what time does the party start, anyway?" Arthur asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. " Huh... I don't know, Gilbert didn't tell me. Let me call him." Alfred said, pulling out his phone and dialing Gilbert's number, putting his phone on speaker.

" Yeah, Alfred, what do you want?" Gilbert said, and Alfred pouted. " Aw, dude, that's not nice. Anyway, I need to know what time the party is tonight. And I'm bringing Arthur." " Aw, not eyebrows." Gilbert groaned, and Arthur glared at the phone. " I heard that!" " Oh shit, he's there? Yo man, sorry but your eyebrows are huge. And uh, the party is... Ludwig, what time's Toni's party?" Gilbert yelled at his brother, and a faint thud could be heard in the background, along with shouting in both German and Italian.

" Mi dispiace Ludwig! Non ho notato che c'erano!" " Uhr, in der Sie gehendes Feliciano sind, konnten Sie verletzt werden!" " Non capisco cosa stai dicendo Ludwig!" Alfred raised an eyebrow and looked at Arthur, who looked slightly concerned. " Uh, everything okay over there?" He asked, and Gilbert sighed loudly. " Yeah, that clumsy Italian came over and must have bumped into something. LUDWIIIIG!" " Verdammt! What, Gilbert?" Ludwig yelled, and Alfred flinched.

" I said, what time is Toni's party tonight?" Gilbert repeated, and Ludwig sighed heavily in the background. " I've told you five times already, 8 o'clock." " Kay. You heard him, 8 o'clock. So why're you bringing Arthur, anyway?" Gilbert asked, and Arthur huffed. " It's because I decided to come, damn it! Now Alfred has to go, we're going special shopping right now." With that, Arthur reached over and pressed the 'end call' button.

" Special shopping, Arthur? That was your excuse?" Alfred laughed, putting his phone up. Arthur glared at the windshield as he pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. " Whatever, just... help me get these clothes inside. I guess I can stay here until tonight, I have nothing else to do." Arthur said, and the two grabbed the bags from the back and walked inside of Alfred and Matthew's apartment.

" Thank god you're back, did my car get hurt?" Matthew asked as they walked in. " Gee, good to know you got your priorities straight, bro. No, your car is perfectly fine, and so is your beloved brother." Alfred said, tossing the keys to Matthew. " Now, Arthur and I will be in my room if you need us. By the way, the party is at 8! Be ready!" Alfred called as he dragged Arthur to his room, slamming the door so hard that a picture frame fell off of the wall.

Matthew sighed, going to pick up the glass. His brother really should be more careful.

 

Translations:

Italian:

Mi dispiace Ludwig! Non ho notato che c'erano! - I'm sorry Ludwig! I didn't notice you were there! ((or something really close to that))

Non capisco cosa stai dicendo Ludwig! - I don't understand what you're saying Ludwig!

German:

Uhr, in der Sie gehendes Feliciano sind, konnten Sie verletzt werden! - Watch where you're going Feliciano, you could get hurt! ((or something really close to that))

If you read something in a different language that you could cringe at because you know it is HORRIBLY wrong, please tell me so I can correct it.


	3. 3

" I still don't understand why you had to come to this party, Alfred." Arthur said, looking up at the large house that was practically vibrating with music. Multicolored strobe lights flashed in the partially blacked out windows, and he could hear the shouts and screams of people over the sound of the heavy metal/pop music. Arthur didn't know what to think about it. He'd never been to a party that looked THIS hardcore from the very start. It both excited and uneased him.

" Yeah, man! Just look at this place! We're so lucky Antonio has this secluded beach house. If he didn't, we'd be forced to go to those boring parties in the city, y'know where you have to keep the music down and shit. Now, are we going, or what?" Alfred said, glancing at his brother. Matthew looked terrified. " I-I don't know, A-Alfred, I've never really been to a real party before, a-and now you expect me to go into... th-this." He said, pointing a slightly shaky finger at the house.

" Ah, you'll be fine. I'm sure that one guy, um... what's his name again? That brunette with social anxiety you like to hang out with sometimes?" Matthew frowned. " I highly doubt Toris would come to a party like this. Unless, Feliks decided to come and dragged him here with him." " Who's Feliks?" Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow. " He's Toris's friend... or at least, that's what they tell me, but I think they're secretly dating." Matthew said, blushing a little.

Alfred was silent for a minute. " Alfred?" Arthur said, tilting his head slightly. " Anyway, lets go guys!" Alfred suddenly yelled, grabbing Matthew and Arthur and dragging them along behind him. He knocked as loudly as he could on the door, hoping someone would hear. There was a faint click, and the door opened, revealing a little blonde girl, about 16 or 17 years old. She smiled widely, then yelled over the music, " Come on in, you guys! If you need to speak with Antonio, he's in the kitchen!"

The girl moved back into the crowd, leaving Alfred, Arthur and Matthew to themselves. Arthur shut the door behind them, locking it back. " I'm going to go see Antonio for a minute, you guys go have fun." Alfred said, loud enough to where Arthur and Matthew could hear. They nodded, Arthur blending into the crowd with an extremely nervous looking Matthew following closely behind him. Alfred walked toward a doorway, hoping to find the kitchen and not get lost. He'd only ever been to Antonio's beach house twice, this time included.

When he peered around the corner, a breath of relief left him. Antonio was working on making more... something, and Lovino and Feliciano were there helping. " Hey, Antonio!" Alfred said, and Antonio turned around, smiling widely. " Alfred! I'm glad you could make it! Having fun yet?" He asked, turning back to the counter. " Nah, I literally just got here. Matthew and Arthur went somewhere, and I-" " You got your brother to come?" Feliciano interrupted, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, he followed Arthur into the crowd. I'm not really sure he'll make it or not. He was shaking when I left them."

Feliciano frowned. " You shouldn't leave him all alone, Alfred. What if something happens?" Alfred shrugged. " Ah, nothing will happen. If it does and I'm not there, I'm sure Arthur will help." He said. " So, what are you guys doing?" Antonio opened the oven, putting a large pan covered in what looked like brownies in. " We were just finishing up the sweets. Lovino and Feliciano wanted to help, so I let the-" " What the hell are you talking about, bastard? You forced me to come in here and work for you! Fucking douche, I'm not your slave!" Lovino growled, making Alfred and Feliciano jump.

Antonio just laughed and draped an arm around the slightly shorter boy's shoulders. " Ah, Lovi, you just don't want to admit it." " Admit WHAT?" " That you're in love with me." At this, Lovino blushed, grabbing his brother's hand and pulling him away. " Fuck you, you damn bastard. Lets get out of here, Feliciano." Lovino growled, leaving the kitchen. Alfred watched them disappear, then turned to Antonio and smirked. " You still haven't given up on him, have you?"

Antonio sighed. " No, but it seems like the more I try, the more he doesn't want to be around me." He said, sitting down at the table and sighing. " Damned it, don't go all depressed on me now, we're supposed to be having fun. Besides, I'm not good at stuff like this." Alfred said, sitting across from him. " I know, I'm sorry Alfred. You can go join the party, I'll stay in here and watch the brownies." " No, Antonio, you need to have fun, too. Agh, you know what? I'll give you the best advice I can think of, then you have to cheer the hell up." Antonio sat up, looking at Alfred. " Okay, Alfred."

" Alright, well. Have you actually tried any other move rather than flirting with Lovino?" Antonio frowned. " No, not really..." " There you go then! You have to have a more romantic approach. Y'know, let him know you're serious about loving him and not just trying to get in his pants. If he thinks all you want to do is fuck him then leave him laying, he's not going to give in." Alfred said. " A more romantic approach... right, but that's just it! I don't know how to be romantic without flirting!"

Alfred sighed heavily. " Ask him out on a date, take him to a really fancy restaurant, maybe go to a movie. Oh, and if you do go see a movie, let him choose which one to watch. Um, drive him home, give him a peck on the cheek, and drive away. Fuck dude, I really don't know what to tell you. You know I've never been one for romance and relationships." Antonio smiled. " Actually Alfred, that sounds like it just might work. Thanks. Now, why don't we go join the party?" Alfred grinned. " Sounds great!"

The two walked out of the kitchen and squeezed through the many dancing bodies. Alfred was looking for his brother, wanting to make sure nothing happened in his absence. When he finally got to the other side of the crowd, he was met with a table filled with sweets. There was a large cooler full of beer next to it. He sighed. Might as well relax a little. Grabbing a beer, Alfred cracked it open and took a sip. It burned slightly as it went down, but that just fueled him to drink more.

Before he knew it, he had went through four cans. Or maybe it was five. He hadn't kept count. Alfred was munching on a cookie when there was a crash on the other side of the room. He bolted up, looking around. Nobody seemed to take notice, but Alfred hadn't seen Matthew since they got there, and he felt a little paranoid. Standing up, he swayed a little, then started making his way through the crowd. When he got to the other side, he was shocked at the sight that was presented before him.

Gilbert was holding Matthew down, kissing him. Matthew's shirt was lifted up, and Gilbert was running his fingers all across his stomach and chest. The worst part was... Matthew seemed to be enjoying it. " Hey! Gilbert, what the fuck!?" Alfred yelled, jerking the albino off of his brother. " Wh... what, are... Alfred!?" Matthew seemed to break out of a trance when he saw his brother holding Gilbert by his hair. He pulled his shirt down and stood up, grabbing Alfred's hand. " Alfred, let him go! Please, it was me! I came onto him!" Alfred rolled his eyes. " Pfft, like I'm going to believe that, Mattie." He said, tightening his grip on Gilbert.

" Ack! It's true, dude! He came up to me and started flirting! You know how long I've wanted him, I wasn't going to just stand there!" Gilbert said, his voice strained from having his head being held back by his hair. Alfred raised an eyebrow at Matthew. " Really? What the hell made you want to flirt with this fuck-face? Actually, what the hell made you want to flirt at all?" Matthew flushed slightly. " I may have had a beer or two... or five- I'm sorry Alfred! Please just let Gil go!" Matthew said, tightening his grip on his brother's fist.

Alfred shook his head and sighed, releasing Gilbert's hair. " Wow. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Mattie." He said, glaring at Gilbert. Matthew nodded. " I do..." " Yeah, now can we get back to what we were doing before you had to interrupt us? I would like to fuck your brother up a wall if you don't mind." Gilbert said, throwing an arm around Matthew's shoulders. Alfred glared harder, a look of disgust on his face. " Dude, I really didn't need to know that. Damned it, just go to a room, I don't think people want to see... that." Alfred said, walking away.

Looked like Gilbert got his wish, he scored his brother. Alfred shivered. He went back to the table and grabbed another beer, then decided that he might as well dance a little. " No need to be lazy." He muttered to himself, weaving into the crowd. He started dancing, swaying his hips to the fast beat of the music, moving like he was born dancing. The blonde girl from before smiled, dancing closer to him. " You're name's Alfred, right?" She yelled over the music, still dancing.

Alfred nodded, " Yeah, that's me. What's yours?" " I'm Elise." Alfred smiled. " Elise, that's a great name. Don't hear it much." Elise smiled, moving her hips to the faster pace of the song that had just came on. " I'm from Belgium. I was named after my grandmother. It's a popular name there, so I don't really get compliments on it. Thanks." She replied, and was just about to say something else when her name was called. A few people stopped their dancing, and Elise flushed a little. " I'm sorry, I have to go! That's my brother. It was nice meeting you, Alfred!" She said, waving as she ran off.

Alfred smiled. She seemed like a nice girl. He continued dancing, until he was out of breath. He walked over to one of the many couches Antonio had and plopped down, resting. Just as he caught his breath, there was a loud bang and yelling that he couldn't comprehend. Alfred groaned. " What now?" He said, getting up. This time was different. Everyone had stopped dancing, and the music had been turned down. Alfred's curiosity peaked, and he pushed passed some people to the front of the crowd.

Elizabeta was standing there, only covered by bed sheets, and looking both angry and sad. Alfred walked up to her. " Liza, what happened?" He asked her, and she glared at him, pointing her thumb to the room she was standing next to. Alfred walked in. " What the hell's going on in he- Arthur? Oi! What the fuck!" Alfred ran up to Roderich, who was attacking Arthur. Arthur's lip was bleeding and his eye was already swelling up. Roderich's knuckles were bloodied and slightly bruised. " What the fuck happened here?" Alfred demanded, and Roderich strained against his hold on him, wanting to get at Arthur.

" That bastard was sleeping with Elizabeta! I knew it was her voice I heard! I knocked the door open and they were going at it like fucking animals! I'm going to fucking kill you, Kirkland!" Roderich yelled, trying to get away from Alfred. " Somebody get in here and help me!" Alfred yelled, and in the next second, Roderich was pulled out of his arms and into someone else's. Alfred looked up. " Francis, thank god. Hold him tight, I have to get this worked out without somebody going to the hospital." He said. " I heard what Roderich said, but we need the full story. Elizabeta, would you join us?" Francis called, and the girl walked in, standing away from the four of them.

" So, what's your side, Liza?" Alfred asked. Elizabeta tightened her grip on the sheets she was covering herself with. " I... Arthur, he... Fine, you guys want the truth? Roderich hasn't touched me in so long, I just lost it! Arthur was so drunk, I don't even think he knew what was happening! So if you want to blame anyone, blame him!" She said, pointing her finger to Roderich. He stopped struggling in Francis's arms. " What are you talking about? I just wanted to make sure you were ready to go to the next-" " I gave you so many hints that I was ready! I spilled things on myself on purpose, trying to turn you on! I slept naked, I didn't wear a bra or underwear around you! How dense are you, Roderich!?" She screeched, angry tears running down her cheeks.

Roderich looked shocked. " I... I didn't know that was your intention..." He said, and Elizabeta stalked right up to him and slapped him. " Because you're a dense idiot. I'm calling this end. It's funny actually, you should be the one breaking up with me for cheating on you. Damned idiot." With that Elizabeta grabbed her clothes and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door. Alfred turned around, looking at Arthur. He was sitting on the floor beside of the bed, looking slightly shocked. Wether he was still drunk or not was a mystery.

Roderich was staring at the bathroom door. He looked... sad. Sad, hurt and betrayed. Elizabeta opened the bathroom door, and with her clothes back on, she glared at Roderich, held up her middle finger, and walked out. Just as she walked out of the room, Antonio ran in. " What happened? Vash came and got me, he said there was a problem!" Alfred explained what had happened. After hearing it a second time, Roderich started crying. Alfred turned his back to him, giving him privacy. Francis held onto him, rubbing little circles in his back, trying to calm him down. Antonio walked back out of the room.

" Alright guys, party's over. Be safe getting home. If you wreck and don't die, I'll kill you myself!" He said, and everyone started filing out the door, some lingering to offer help cleaning up. Antonio was grateful, and they got started on cleaning the mess up. Meanwhile, Alfred helped Arthur back into his clothes, as he was still drunk. He threw Arthur's arm across his shoulders and held onto his waist, picking him up slightly to carry him easier. " Francis... take care of Roderich tonight. I'll have Arthur come over tomorrow to... apologize and stuff." Alfred whispered, and Francis nodded, tightening his hold on Roderich, who had calmed down now, and was just holding onto the blonde.

Alfred walked Arthur to the car, where there was a note on the hood. " Went home with Gil, keys are in the pipe." Alfred read aloud. He crumbled the paper up and threw it on the ground, walking to the back of the car and reaching into the exhaust pipe. He grabbed the keys and unlocked the car, placing Arthur in the passenger seat and buckling him up, then getting in the drivers seat. He started the car and drove away, hoping that just once, he'd be able to drive without nearly wrecking.

~~~page break~~~

Once Alfred pulled up at the apartment, Arthur had fallen asleep. He sighed, hauling the dead weight out of the car and up to the second floor. Alfred opened the door to their apartment, then dragged Arthur inside, kicking the door shut. Alfred struggled to turn the light on, but once he got it on, he carried Arthur to his room, situating him on his bed and putting a trashcan beside of the bed. Alfred looked down at Arthur. " Arthur, what am I going to do with you? You're supposed to be my role model, but look at you." He sighed, turning his bedroom light out and heading to the living room, plopping down onto the couch.

After a few minutes, Alfred couldn't hold his eyes open any longer, and he fell asleep.


	4. 4

" ... -red? Alfred? Alfred, wake up!" A voice above Alfred's head called, pulling him out of unconsciousness. He blinked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. " Mattie? What are you doing here?" Alfred asked his brother, who crossed his arms. " I live here. Feliciano gave me a ride home this morning. Where's Arthur? Surely you didn't take him home, did you?" Matthew asked, raising an eyebrow. Alfred shook his head, standing up and stretching. " Nah, he's asleep in my room."

The two walked down the hallway to Alfred's room, where Arthur was tangled in covers and laying backwards, yet still asleep. Matthew sighed. " Well, wake him up so he can get cleaned up. He probably reeks of beer. I'll be in the kitchen starting breakfast if you need me." He said, then walked away. Alfred bit his bottom lip, then rolled his eyes when Arthur let out a low groan, his eyes opening and focusing on nothing in particular. " Arthur, are you awake?" Alfred asked, walking to the edge of the bed.

Arthur turned his gaze to Alfred, blinking a couple times before nodding and sitting up. " Yes... I'm awake... and I need to throw up." Alfred sighed, pulling him up by his waist and half carrying-half dragging him to the bathroom. Alfred found a towel and ran warm water over it while Arthur, well, took care of his business. Arthur thanked Alfred when he handed him the towel, and sat back against the cold tile of the bathroom wall. " So, do you remember what happened last night, or am I going to have to explain it to you?" Alfred asked, standing in the bathroom doorway.

Arthur cringed, and shook his head. " No... You don't have to explain it, I remember. After Roderich burst through the door, I was sober enough to know what was happening. I can't believe I did that... he was a friend, too... and I probably, more than likely, ruined that." Arthur said, a sad look in his eyes. Alfred walked over to Arthur and placed a hand on his shoulder. " If Roderich is truly your friend, then I'm sure he can forgive you for this. Besides, it was Elizabeta's idea, and you were drunk off your ass." Arthur winced at Alfred's words.

Alfred helped him to his feet. " I'm going to take you over to Francis's house after breakfast so-" " Whoa, wait, why would you be taking me to that bloody frog's house?" Arthur interrupted. Alfred scoffed. " If you would have let me finish, you would know. I'm taking you there because I asked him to watch Roderich for the night to make sure he was okay. I'm more than positive they went back to his house, because one, Francis doesn't know where Roderich lives, and two, Elizabeta would have been there getting her stuff out."

Arthur nodded reluctantly. " Alright, fine. Ugh, I feel disgusting. Can I use your shower?" He asked, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, sure. I'll see if I have any clothes you can wear. Wouldn't want you wearing your old dirty clothes, now would we?" With that, Alfred left Arthur to whatever he needed to do. He went to his room and rummaged around in his closet until he found a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that looked like they'd fit Arthur. He wasn't that much smaller than Alfred, maybe half a foot or so.

After dropping the clothes off at the bathroom, Alfred walked into the kitchen, where Matthew was talking to someone on the phone. " Yeah, I made it home perfectly fine... No, Feliciano didn't drive that wildly, have you ever ridden in a car with his mother? My point made... Gil, I'm fine. Look, I have to go, I'm making breakfast... Alright, see you later." Matthew flipped his phone shut and laid it on the table, turning to look at Alfred. " So, is Arthur alright?" He asked. Alfred nodded. " Yeah. He's taking a shower right now." " So what are you going to do? Are you going to make him apologize to Roderich or anything?"

Alfred nodded. " Yeah, I was planning on taking him over to Francis's house, because that's where Roderich is, and having him explain himself and stuff. Also, I feel kind of obligated to make sure Roderich is okay after what happened last night." Matthew pursed his lip in concentration. There was a brief pause between the two, then Matthew spoke. " Well, what I heard was that Elizabeta had been planning to do something like this all along. So really, shouldn't she be the one doing the explaining in this situation instead of Arthur, whom she only dragged into this to hurt her now ex-boyfriend?"

Alfred sighed. " I know, but she's probably already gone. And if she's not gone and decided to stay here in LA, then I'm pretty sure she never wants anything to do with Roderich or Arthur again. And bro? Pause occassionally when you're talking, your mini speech made my head throb." Matthew sighed, a half-smile gracing his face as he turned back to the stove, finishing cooking the last bit of food he had put on. Just as he took the pan off of the stove and turned it off, Arthur came into the kitchen wearing the clothes Alfred had gave him.

" Hey, you look good in that, Arthur!" Alfred exclaimed, and Arthur crossed his arms, covering the slightly faded Captain America shield. " Shut it. My headache will only get worse if you spout out your usual nonsense." He said, and Alfred frowned. " If you have a headache, Arthur, then why didn't you just tell me?" He said, grabbing a bottle of tylenol and shaking a couple out. He handed them to Arthur along with a glass of water, and Arthur downed the pills gratefully.

" Alright, you two, sit down at the table and eat before your food gets cold." Matthew said, and Alfred and Arthur joined him at the table. " Mmm, looks great, Mattie!" Alfred said, digging in. Arthur sighed, worrying to himself about Alfred's manners, and started eating. " It's really good, Matthew. Thank you." Matthew smiled. " You're welcome, Arthur."

After the three were done eating, Alfred took their plates to the sink. He ran to his room and put some clean clothes on, then brushed his teeth and walked into the living room, sighing. " You ready to go, Arthur?" He asked, and Arthur nodded. " Yeah, I'm ready. But I think I should drive. I'm not trusting you." He said, reaching for the keys on the table. Matthew grabbed them before either of the other two could touch them. " It's /my/ car, therefore I think I should drive. But, seeing as to how I'm not going, I get to choose who gets to drive." Alfred pouted. " But Matthew, I drove home last night and didn't hurt anything! And besides, that one is supposed to have a hangover." He said, jabbing his thumb at Arthur.

Matthew calculated the odds in his mind, then nodded. " I think you're right." He threw the keys to Alfred. " Fine, but if I die, I'm blaming you." Arthur said, giving Matthew a pointed look. " If you die, you won't be able to blame anyone but the driver. Now go." Matthew ushered the two to the door. Alfred shut the door behind them. After walking to the parking lot and starting the car, they drove of toward Francis's house.

~~~page break~~~

" Francis!" Alfred yelled, knocking on the large wooden door for the third time. " Damned it, I know he's in there." Knocking again, Alfred starting to get extremely annoyed. He was about to bang on the door when it was opened abruptly. " Hello, Alfred. Arthur." Francis said, rubbing his eyes. He was dressed only in a pair of pink pajama pants, and his hair was disheveled. " Were you seriously still asleep?" Alfred asked, following the blonde into the house, Arthur coming inside last and shutting the door.

Francis nodded. " Yes, I was up all night calming down Roderich and barely got to sleep before three this morning." Alfred looked around. " So... where is he?" He asked. " Where is who?" Alfred felt like wringing Francis's neck at the moment. " Roderich!" Just then, there was a clatter in the kitchen, and the three men* ran toward the noise. Francis gaped at the floor, where a pool of blood was forming around Roderich's body, a large carving knife in his hand.

Alfred stood in shock for about three seconds before he was at the brunette's side. " Roderich, can you hear me!?" He said, taking the knife out of his hand and lifting him into a sitting position. The only response was a gargled moan. " Arthur, call 911!" Alfred instructed, throwing his phone at him. Arthur nodded, dialing the number. Alfred started searching for the place where all the blood was coming from. Francis was still in shock, standing off to the side with wide eyes.

" Hello, 911? Yes, we have a man here, he's loosing a lot of blood from what would seem like a self-inflicted wound... Alfred, where's the blood coming from?" Arthur asked, his voice urgent. Alfred lifted up Roderich's arms. He had sliced into both of his wrists, the knife severing through the blood veins there. " He sliced his wrists open, and they're deep. Tell them to get here as fast as possible!" Alfred said, ripping strips of his shirt off to try and stop the bleeding as much as he could.

" He's sliced his wrists open... alright, thank you... thank you." Arthur hung up. " They're on their way." He said, kneeling beside Alfred to help with getting the blood to stop. Roderich's violet eyes were nearly gray, and they kept fluttering shut. Alfred lightly slapped his cheeks, keeping him from falling unconscious. "Damned it Roderich, stay awake! Why the hell did you do this!?" He asked, pressing down on the cloth the had wrapped around one wrist. " I... I don't deserve... I..." Was all Roderich could choke out. Arthur pressed the strip of cloth down on Roderich's other wrist, his eyes wide and glassed over.

Alfred was about to say something when the paramedics rushed through the front door and into the kitchen. Alfred and Arthur moved out of their way, then followed them out to the ambulance. Alfred had to grab Francis, or else he'd have stood in the kitchen staring at the puddle of blood forever. " Francis, put this on and get in that ambulance. We'll meet you at the hospital." Alfred said, handing Francis his jacket. Without waiting for a response, he pulled Arthur to the car, wiping the blood off of his hands with his shirt, and started it up. Arthur shut the passenger door and stared down at his blood-stained hands, eyes still slightly glassy.

Alfred watched as Francis climbed into the ambulance, smoothing Roderich's hair with his hand and staring down at him. The doors closed, and a second later, the ambulance took off, sirens blaring loudly. Alfred sped after them. " Arthur, are you okay?" He asked, glancing at Arthur. " This is all my fault..." Arthur whispered. " No it's not. Don't believe that, because it's not." Alfred said, his voice hard. It was silent after that until they got to the hospital. They must have looked pretty rough, judging from the looks they got as they stared after the paramedics that wheeled Roderich down to the emergency room.

A nurse came up to them with a worried look on her face. " Are you boys alright?" She asked, her voice concerned. Alfred nodded. " Yes, we just want to make sure our friend will be okay." He said, and the nurse smiled. " He'll be fine. We have one of the best doctors in California here. He'll make sure your friend gets patched up. For now though, maybe you three should go home and clean up." She said, gesturing to all the blood on them. Alfred smiled. " You're right, I feel like we're scaring the people in here."

They were about to leave when Francis spoke up. " When he's out of the emergency room, would you mind giving me a call?" He asked the nurse, and she nodded, pulling out a pen and grabbing a clipboard from the desk behind her. " Sure, what's the name of the patient and your number?" " Roderich Edelstein, and my number is 323-465-6719." Francis said, and the nurse nodded as she wrote it down. " Alright, I'll call you when he's out." She said, and waved as the three left. They all walked to the car, and Alfred sighed loudly as he got in. " This didn't turn out the way I thought it would." He said, laying his head on the steering wheel.

Francis gulped, sitting in the backseat and shutting the door softly. " I don't... why would he do this...?" He muttered. " Because I made him lose Elizabeta..." Arthur said, sliding into the passengers seat. Alfred looked up. " Arthur, it is NOT your fault. You were drunk last night, you couldn't help it. It was Elizabeta that caused this mess, not you." He said. " But if I hadn't been drunk, I could have prevented all this!" Arthur said, his eyes watering slightly. Alfred sighed. " Even so, she would have found someone else. This would have happened, even if it wasn't with you." He said, reaching over to wipe a tear away from Arthur's eye just as it fell. " So stop crying. It's not your fault and nobody blames you."

Arthur glared at Alfred. " I'm not crying. Lets just go. I want to get home and take another shower then lay down." Alfred smiled a little, starting the car and driving away from the hospital. " If you don't mind, you can drop me off at my house." Francis said from the backseat. " Are you sure? There's still a lot of blood in the kitchen." Alfred said. Francis nodded. " Yes, I'm sure. I can handle blood, I was just shocked when this happened." He said, and Alfred complied, dropping him off at his house. " Call us whenever you get news on him." Alfred called after him. " Oh, and try not to get any blood on my jacket. You can give it back tomorrow."

~~~page break~~~

Once Alfred got home, it was nearly 4 o'clock. It had been 12 when they had left the house that morning, and Matthew had expected them back around 2. As soon as Alfred stepped through the door, Matthew was in front of him. He was about to start yelling when he noticed the blood and torn shirt. " Alfred... what happened?" Tears formed in Matthew's eyes as he expected the worst possible answer from his brother. Alfred sighed. " When we got to Francis's house, Roderich tried to commit suicide." A wave of relief passed through Matthew's body. Then he tensed again.

" So where's Arthur?" He asked. " I took him home. He was covered in blood and he said he just wanted to take a shower and lay down." Alfred explained. " So wait, how exactly did Roderich...?" " He sliced his wrists open. Left a giant puddle of blood in Francis's kitchen. Arthur called 911 and we followed them to the hospital, but we had to leave because we were freaking people out. Roderich is in the emergency room." Alfred said. " Is he going to be okay?" Matthew asked, and Alfred shrugged. " I don't really know, Mattie. Hopefully. Now, I'm going to take a shower and get all this blood off of me." Alfred said, and Matthew let the questions drop.

That night, nobody slept.


	5. 5

Alfred was woken up by a loud alarm sound the next morning. His eyes shot open and he bolted up out of bed, only to sigh and kick the alarm clock off of his bedside stand when he realized what it was. Matthew must have came in his room and set it last night. Alfred never really used the alarm on his clock, and apparently Matthew wanted him to get up on time for school this morning.

Alfred groaned loudly and ran a hand through his hair. " Damned it." He cursed, walking out of his bedroom door and to the bathroom. He really didn't feel up to school today, but he knew he had to go. If he missed another day of school, he'd have to make it up on a Saturday, and he couldn't do that, seeing as to how he had to practice surfing on those days. He sighed, brushing his teeth and freshening himself up.

Matthew walked into the bathroom and smiled. " Good, you woke up." He said, and Alfred glared at him. " Only because you turned my alarm on. You could have at least turned the volume down, I almost pissed my pants!" Matthew laughed, brushing his brother's words off. " So, are you actually going to school today?" Alfred asked, referring to Friday, when Matthew had stayed out. Matthew huffed. " Alfred, I had a job interview at twelve that day, I think that's a little more important than school. We need some source of income rather than mom and dad's retirement funds."

Alfred sighed. " Okay, okay. But can we save this conversation for later? It's way too early to be talking about that stuff." Matthew nodded, moving out of Alfred's way as he brushed past him. " Alright, just get dressed." Alfred said, heading back to his room and getting his clothes on. It's true, Alfred needed to find a job too. But between school and surfing, there was just no time. He sighed as he pulled his school bag over his shoulder, making his way to the kitchen. " Mattie, can't we just stop and get some breakfast at McDonald's or something?" Alfred asked when he saw Matthew pulling out a pan. Matthew sighed. " Fine, I guess it would save me from having to do extra dishes tonight."

With that, the two walked out to Matthew's car and drove off, headed toward school. They stopped at McDonald's and got some biscuits, then continued down the road. " Alfred, wait until we get to school to eat, I don't want crumbs in my car. And I had a really hard time getting all that blood off of my steering wheel last night. You could have at least washed your hands at the hospital or something." Matthew said sternly, and Alfred groaned. " Ugh, don't get your panties in a bunch, Mattie, you sound like mom!" He said, slumping down in the seat slightly.

When they finally arrived at school, Gilbert and France were standing outside, waiting on them. Matthew smiled, and Alfred rolled his eyes. " Hey, Gil." Matthew called, getting out of the car. Gilbert walked up to him and kissed him, making Alfred groan and hide his eyes. " I will never get used to you two being all lovey-dovey." He said, walking away. He could hear Gilbert laughing quietly. " So Francis, have you heard anything on Roderich?" Alfred asked Francis. " No, the hospital hasn't called me about anything yet. I really hope he'll be alright. I know it was just slit wrists, but with all that blood, it must have been pretty deep." Francis said, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, they looked really deep last night." He said, then shivered. " I'm just glad we were there."

Francis nodded in agreement. " I am too. You saw how I froze at the sight of all that blood. If you and Arthur hadn't have been there..." Francis trailed off, looking at the ground. Alfred nibbled on his lip, then perked up when he saw Arthur pull up. " Hey, Arthur!" He called as the other got out of his car. Arthur walked up and rubbed his eyes. " Hello, Alfred. Now lower your voice, I have a headache. I only got a few hours of sleep last night." He said. " Francis, have you-" " No. The hospital hasn't called him yet." Alfred interrupted. Arthur sighed. Francis smiled. " Well then, I have to go get some breakfast. Bye you guys." He said, walking off. At the mention of breakfast, Alfred remembered he had a biscuit in his bag. He pulled it out and ate, talking to Arthur about practice and other things.

" Do I really have to practice today, Arthur?" Alfred asked, and Arthur nodded. " Yes, you've been slacking off lately. If you ever want to be as good as your father was, you have to discipline yourself and practice whenever you have the time." He said, and Alfred frowned. " But there isn't another surfing competition until July, and it's March! I've not been working that much on practice lately because the water is still cold from the winter." He said, and Arthur shrugged. " Not my problem. You're definitely practicing today, it's going to be pretty out. The low for today is 75 degrees, so the water shouldn't be that cold."

Alfred was about to say something when an unusual car pulled into the parking lot. The model was familiar, because Gilbert and his brother owned a convertable just like this one, though the color was unusual. A metallic midnight blue, with an almost purple shimmer. The top was so dark it was nearly black, but in the sunlight you could tell it was indeed blue. Alfred nudged Arthur in the side. " Hey, who is that?" He asked, and Arthur looked to where Alfred was pointing. " I... I don't know, Alfred. I've never seen that car before. Maybe someone got it as a birthday present or something? There are still freshmen here who don't have cars yet, you know." Arthur said, and Alfred frowned. " True, but... what parent would buy a car like that for a freshman who's only just learned to drive?"

The car parked, and Alfred and Arthur watched intently as three people got out. A girl with long platinum blonde hair that was nearly white, another girl with short pale blonde hair and some gigantic knockers, and the driver, whom was a tall boy with hair nearly as platinum as the long haired girl. They looked around, then walked toward the entrance, where Alfred and Arthur were still watching them closely. The girl with long hair steeled her gaze as she paused in front of the two. " Excuse us." She said, in a surprisingly polite manner. Arthur nodded and pulled Alfred out of the way of the doors. " Sorry about that." He said, and let the three pass. Alfred huffed indignantly as he was manhandled roughly. He pulled his arm out of Arthur's grip, then watched as the doors closed behind the three strangers.

" Did you pick up that accent?" Arthur said, " It sounded Russian. Or maybe Polish or something. I couldn't tell, it was barely there." Alfred nodded. " Yeah, definitely something from the Eastern part of the world. I guess they're more students or something." Just then, the bell rang. Alfred threw the wrapper to his biscuit away then said goodbye to Arthur, running off to his first class. Time to begin the day.

~~~~page break~~~~

When it was time for lunch, Alfred met up with his normal group of friends at their table. Arthur, Gilbert, Francis, Ludwig, Feliciano and Matthew were already sitting down, Gilbert's arm over Matthew's shoulder and Feliciano leaning against Ludwig's arm. Alfred sat down after he had gotten his food. " Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked, trying not to stuff his face and actually use manners. " Well, nothing really, except for Elizabeta and Roderich." Ludwig said, lowering his voice at the mention on Elizabeta. Alfred looked over Ludwig's shoulder at where the girl usually sat with her friends, but she was nowhere to be seen.

" Ludwig, what are you talking about?" Feliciano asked, a confused look on his face. " Roderich and Elizabeta broke up, Feli." Gilbert answered before Ludwig could, and his brother sent him a heavy glare. " But why? They had been together for so long, and they were thinking about marriage the last time I was at their house!" Feliciano said, and Ludwig sighed. " Well, some things happen for a reason, Feliciano. Maybe it was time for them to move on anyway." At this, Francis cringed slightly, and this caught Alfred's attention. " What's wrong Francis?" He asked, and the others all looked at him. Francis looked trapped under their gazes.

" Well, it's just that... it's so sad to see someone so in love with another go through a hard break-up like that." He said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Matthew nodded. " It's true, Roderich must have been devastated when... that happened." Arthur's slightly tense posture relaxed when the reason they had broken up was replaced by 'that'. He really didn't want to have to relive that horrible night ever again. Feliciano started to say something, but Alfred tuned it out as he watched the scene happening behind Gilbert. It was those people from that morning, except the short haired girl was missing. The long haired girl was saying something to the boy. He nodded, then the girl went into the girls bathroom, leaving him all by himself. A couple of boys from a back table in the lunchroom walked up to him. Alfred recognized the tallest as Sadiq, a Turkish exchange student. They were saying something that Alfred couldn't make out.

There were three of them, all taller than the new boy. He may have seemed tall this morning, but in reality, he could only be an inch or two taller than Alfred. One of the boys pulled at the scarf the smaller was wearing, and he jerked it out of his hand, saying something that, by the look on his face, was threatening. The three boys looked to themselves, then Sadiq pulled his arm back and, with a grin on his face, swung and punched the new boy in the face. Alfred was out of his seat and at the scene in two seconds. " What the fuck are you doing, Sadiq?" He yelled, standing in front of the new boy. Sadiq rolled his eyes. " Oh, Alfred, always trying to be the hero. We were just teaching this dumbass a lesson. He's obviously fucking with us, acting like he can't speak English." He said, and suddenly, Ludwig and Gilbert were standing on either side of Alfred.

" I think it'd be best for you if you took your little friends and left, Sadiq." Gilbert said in a mocking tone, and Sadiq growled. " This has nothing to do with you, you stupid Germans." " Actually, if it has anything to do with Alfred, then it has something to do with us as well. Friends stick up for each other." Gilbert replied. Sadiq rolled his eyes. " Oh, whatever. C'mon, lets leave these losers alone." He said, and the three of them walked off. Alfred turned around to the new boy. " I'm sorry about them, man. Are you alright?" He asked, then noticed the drop of blood on his cheek. Sadiq must have been wearing that stupid ring he always wears. Alfred reached up to wipe the droplet off, but stopped when the boy cringed, as if he was going to get hit again. " Hey, are you okay? I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I'm not like those douchebags." Alfred said, wiping the blood off of the boy's cheek.

Ludwig and Gilbert had walked back to their seats once Sadiq and his friends had disappeared, so when the girl came out of the bathroom, Alfred was the only one she could blame for the cut on the boy's cheek. " What the hell are you doing?" She hissed, jerking Alfred away from him. " That wasn't me, I swear! These three assholes were bugging him, so I had to come run them off." He said, and the girl rolled her eyes. " Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened." She said, then turned to the boy. " Он ударил тебя?" Alfred raised an eyebrow. Why was she talking in a foreign language to him? The boy shook his head. " Нет, все было иначе. Он остановил их. Три мальчика были запугивание меня." He said, and the girl sighed and nodded. She turned back to Alfred. " Alright, I'm sorry. And thank you for sticking up for my brother." She said. Alfred nodded. " Yeah, it was nothing. I'm Alfred, by the way." He said, holding his hand out. The girl shook it. " My name is Natalia, and this is my brother Ivan. He... he doesn't speak English. It was a bad idea for him to come here, but our older sister was moving, and he wanted to go. I knew that since I was the only one who would know what he needed, I came too."

" Oh, that makes sense... but couldn't your sister translate for him?" Alfred asked, not wanting to intrude, but curious. " No, she went to live with her aunt in Ukraine when she was little. She hasn't been able to speak or understand Russian for almost twelve years now." Natalia explained. Alfred frowned. " So, Ivan only speaks Russian? He doesn't understand English?" Natalia shook her head. " No, he doesn't understand English. I was planning on having him take classes online for his English, but they were all to complicated for him. He needs a tutor, but I can't do it because I'm too busy trying to find a job to help with our rent. Our sister has money, but it's only a matter of time before she can't afford to pay for all three of us anymore." Alfred smiled. " Well, I'm a pretty good teacher... I could be his tutor!" Natalia looked at Alfred. " Are you sure? It might take a while before Ivan catches on. And like I said, I'm still trying to find a job to make money." Alfred shook his head. " I'm not about to ask you for money. I can do it for free, on my own time. And yeah, why not? I don't mind if it takes a while."

Natalia smiled. " Thank you, Alfred. This will make things a bit easier for our transition." She turned to Ivan. " Иван, Альфред собирается репетитора вами на английском языке." She said, gesturing to Alfred. Ivan bit his lip and nodded. " Ну, Наталья. Скажите ему, что я говорю спасибо что заступился за меня, и за предложение научить меня." He said. Natalia looked back at Alfred. " He said thank you for sticking up for him, and for being his tutor." Alfred smiled and nodded toward Ivan, and Ivan smiled back. The bell rang for the next classes to begin, and Alfred, Natalia and Ivan said their goodbyes and went to class. Alfred caught up with Arthur. " Hey, Arthur, I met those new kids! The guy doesn't speak English, so I offered to be his tutor!" Arthur looked at Alfred. " Are you crazy, Alfred? How are you going to balance your schedule?" Arthur asked. Alfred shrugged. " Well, I... I know! Instead of practicing on Saturdays, I can practice an extra hour on Mondays and Wednesdays. That way, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I can tutor Ivan after school, then on Saturdays, I'll have all day!" Arthur sighed. " Fine. But you practice an extra hour Mondays and Wednesdays!" He said, then walked off.

Alfred smiled. He couldn't wait to start his first session with Ivan. He seemed like a nice guy, and his sister was interesting, too. He just had to make it through the rest of the day.

 

If you know Russian and you find any mistakes in the following translations, please tell me. I only just started learning it a few months ago.

Translations:

Он ударил тебя?- He hit you?

Нет, все было иначе. Он остановил их. Три мальчика были запугивание меня.- No, it was different. He stopped them. Three boys were bullying me.

Иван, Альфред собирается репетитора вами на английском языке.- Ivan, Alfred is going to tutor you in English.

Ну, Наталья. Скажите ему, что я говорю спасибо что заступился за меня, и за предложение научить меня.- Well, Natalia. Tell him that I say thank you for sticking up for me, and for offering to teach me.


	6. 6

" When you go back out, try and find a nice wave and see if you can get a good carve in for today." Arthur was explaining to a soaking wet Alfred, who was holding onto his surf board and panting. He nodded, taking the bottle of water Arthur handed him and taking a large gulp. " Ah, for a remotely cool day, it gets pretty hot and tiring out there." Alfred said, laughing. Arthur nodded, pulling his sunglasses down from his head and back over his eyes. Alfred was right, it was around 75 degrees out, even though the sun was blaring menacingly down on the two. They were at a remote part of the beach, a place hidden by rocks and foliage. It was where they came for Alfred's surfing, so they wouldn't be bothered by the amount of people around.

" Okay, I'm going back out." Alfred said, then ran off and plunged into the water. Arthur sighed lightly and turned to watch him, making sure he did as he was instructed. Alfred paddled out so far Arthur could barely see him, then waited for the biggest wave he could find. A little later, Alfred started paddling out a bit further toward an oncoming wave. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows as Alfred disappeared from his sight, then his eyes widened slightly as a large wave came into view, Alfred in the curve. It got bigger as it came closer, and started to tunnel, blocking Arthur's view of Alfred. Just as the wave was about to crash, Alfred shot out of the opposite end, his hand trailing the curve. He rode the current back to shore, almost tripping when his board hit the sand.

" Was that good enough, Arthur?" He called, grabbing his board and walking up the beach. Just as Arthur was about to answer, there was rustling from the foliage behind him and a grunt. He spun around. " Who's there?" He called, and raised an eyebrow as the rustling stopped. " Come on, it's okay. We just don't like being spied on." Arthur said, taking a step forward. Alfred was suddenly beside of him. " Dude, what are you doing? Talking to plants?" He said, elbowing Arthur and laughing at the scowl on his face. Suddenly, a figure burst from the trees and ran to Alfred. " I-Ivan?" Alfred exlaimed, surprised as the slightly taller boy* stopped beside of him and smiled.

" What are you doing here?" Arthur asked, and Ivan raised an eyebrow. " Что?" " Oh, Arthur, remember, he doesn't speak English. I wonder where his sister is..." Alfred said. Arthur nibbled at his lip, then snapped. " Ah! Remember when Alice* went through that foreign language faze? Well, she learned Russian as well, and she'd practice with me around, so I think I can remember a couple of things. Let me think for a minute." He said, then closed his eyes. Alfred glanced at Ivan, giving him a smile, then turned back to Arthur. " Well? Do you remember anything that might be useful?" He asked, and Arthur growled. " Shut up, my brain can only go so fast! Um, I think... Ваша сестра?"

Ivan perked up a bit, looking at Arthur. " Да, моя сестра?" Arthur thought a bit more, trying to remember the phrase he was looking for. It had been three years since Alice had been around, so his memory was a bit rusty. " Ваша сестра... Она здесь?" Ivan nodded. " Да!" " What are you saying?" Alfred asked. " I'm pretty sure I just asked him if his sister was here. Uh, Вы можете получить ее?" Arthur said, and Ivan nodded and ran off calling, " Сестра!" Arthur looked pretty proud of himself, so Alfred whacked him in the back of his head. " Ow! What the hell?" Arthur yelled, glaring at Alfred. " Don't look so damn high and mighty, for all you know, you could have said something that pissed him off and he's gonna tell Natalia on you." Arthur grumbled about Alfred being an idiot and rubbed the back of his head.

" Either way, you should put your clothes on before she gets here." Arthur said, throwing a shirt at Alfred. The sun had dried his body, and the only thing wet was his hair, which wouldn't hurt. His swimming trunks here still damp, so he couldn't put his shorts on. Just as Alfred pulled the shirt over his head, Natalia and Ivan came out of the trees. " Natalia! I was wondering where you were, Ivan found us and he was all alone." He called. " I was on the beach with our sister. She's still there, though I came to see what my brother needed." Natalia said, and Alfred beamed. " Why don't you bring her over here too? I'd love to meet her!" Natalia looked hesitant, but nodded and turned to Ivan. " Подожди здесь, я получу Катюша." She said, then ran off.

As they were waiting, Ivan hummed and Alfred rubbed the towel over his hair, trying to get it to dry faster. " This is Katyusha, our older sister." Natalia said, pulling the short haired girl from that morning down to the three. " Hello, Katyusha, I'm Alfred!" Alfred said, waving. " Oh please, call me Kat. Katyusha must be a mouthful." She said, a slight blush on her face. " Okay then, Kat." Alfred said, smiling. " Oh, this here is Arthur by the way. Arthur, Natalia and Kat!" Alfred gestured, Arthur smiling. " Hello, Natalia, hello Kat." He said. " Наталья! Я хотел бы пойти посмотреть этот аквариум вы говорите о. Теперь мы можем идти?" Ivan said, and to Alfred, it almost sounded like a whine. Natalia sighed. " Да, да. Мы пойдем. Ah, it looks like we'll have to be going. Ivan wants to go to the aquarium down at the pier. We'll see you at school tomorrow." She said, and after they all said goodbye, they left.

" Well then, that was interesting. What say we go home now, hmm?" Alfred said, and Arthur nodded. " Yes, lets get out of the sun before I burn." He said, and Alfred laughed. " Not anyone's fault but your own dude, it's because you're so pale that you burn so easily." He said, gathering his surfboard, school bag and shorts. Arthur rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag, and the two headed to Arthur's car.

~~~page break~~~

After Arthur had dropped Alfred off at his apartment, Alfred sighed and plopped down on the couch, exhausted. He never did like practicing, and now that he had to do an extra hour, it was really tiring. He was about to get up when there was a thump from Matthew's room. Alfred immediately sat up, staring down the hallway toward his brother's door. He listened carefully, his senses on high alert. What if it was a burglar or something? Another thump, like someone was hitting the wall, and then a pained groan. Alfred jumped up. " Mattie!" He grabbed his brother's hockey stick and busted through the door. " What the fuck are you- ah!" Alfred cut himself off, dropping the hockey stick and covering his eyes.

Matthew gasped and pulled Gilbert down beside of him, jerking the covers up to hide their naked bodies. " Alfred, what the hell?" Matthew yelled, his face red with embarrassment. " I-I, Mattie, I thought-" " You thought what, that there was a stranger here? Break-ins are extremely rare in this area, you ass!" Matthew yelled. " And why do you have my hockey stick? That thing is precious to me, and you know it! If there was a burglar in here and you hit him with that, it would probably crack in two because you can't control your damn strength!" Alfred bit his lip. " I'm sorry, dude..." Matthew sighed loudly and flopped back onto the bed, rubbing his head. " You totally ruined the mood, Alfred." Gilbert said, and Alfred groaned. " I don't want to know about that shit!" He said, picking up the hockey stick and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him.

It was safe to say that Alfred would definitely not be getting used to his brother's relationship anytime soon. He needed somthing to get the image of... that out of his head. Sighing, Alfred put Matthew's hockey stick back on it's stand in the corner, then grabbed his bag. He pulled out his books and got to work on his homework, remembering that he hadn't done it yet. A few minutes later, Matthew and Gilbert came into the living room. " Hey, Alfred, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was just embarrassed." Matthew said, and Alfred smiled. " That's okay, Mattie! It was an honest mistake though, I just wasn't used to any noise when I got home." He said, and Matthew blushed. " Yeah, I'm sorry about that also."

" Hey, I'm really sorry Matthew, but I have to get going. I told my brother I'd be home by seven thirty, and it's nearly eight... I really don't want to be yelled at more than I'm already gonna have to face." Gilbert said, rubbing the back of his head. Matthew turned to him and hugged him. " It's okay, Gil. I don't want you to be yelled at either. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Gilbert hugged back, smiling. " Sure thing, Mattie." He leaned down and kissed Matthew, then grabbed his keys from the coffee table and left. Matthew sighed. " I'm hungry. You want anything, Alfred?" He asked, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, sure! Oh, can you make that hamburger stuff you made last week?" Matthew raised an eyebrow. " Hamburger Helper?" " Yeah, that! Make the kind that tastes like cheeseburgers!"

Matthew smiled and shook his head, walking to the kitchen to get started on their dinner. Alfred stayed on the couch working on his math homework. He finally got it done after another thirty minutes, and by then, the food was done. Alfred put all of his books back into his bag and tossed it off the side of the couch, then headed to the kitchen. He and Matthew ate in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. Until Alfred remembered what had happened that day. " Oh yeah, Mattie, so, you know those new kids? The Russian ones?" Alfred asked, taking another bite of his food. Matthew nodded. " Yeah, I've seen them. That long haired girl looks scary half the time." Alfred smiled. " Well, I saved the guy, his name's Ivan, from Sadiq and his gang today." " Oh, is that why you ran off during lunch?" Matthew asked, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, that's why. And Natalia- ah, the long haired girl- she's not that bad once you meet her and stuff."

Matthew nodded. " Sounds like you've made yourself some new friends." " But that's not all, Mattie. Ivan can't speak English, and so I offered to tutor him." Alfred said, and Matthew blinked. " You... offered to tutor him? Oh Alfred, you really are impulsive, aren't you?" He groaned, and Alfred frowned. " Why does that make me impulsive?" Matthew sighed and put his fork down, rubbing his temples. " You do realize that, to properly tutor someone who speaks a different language, you have to be able to speak that language in able to understand where they're having trouble at, right? And Alfred, do you speak Russian?" Alfred let that sink into his head for a minute, then, " Aw, fuck man. I'm an idiot."

" You aren't an idiot, you're just an impulsive decision maker is all. I'd say the best thing to do is start learning Russian. Hey, in fact, after you and Ivan have learned the basics of each others languages, you could probably tutor each other. He could teach you Russian, and you could teach him English. You just have to get the basics down first." Matthew said, and Alfred perked up. " That's actually a great idea, Mattie, thanks!" After their conversation, they finished eating. The entire time, Alfred was thinking about how he was going to balance school, surfing, tutoring and now learning a new language. He didn't regret his decision, though.

After they were done, Matthew and Alfred washed the dishes, then got ready for bed. " Man, I am so tired." Alfred said, stretching. Matthew yawned, then headed to his room. " Me too. G'night, Alfred." " 'Night, Mattie." Alfred waited until his brother was in his room and the door shut before heading to his own room. He laid down and got comfortable, then as soon as he was relaxed, he was asleep.

 

*1) I don't know if I should call them boys or men... but they are High School age, so...

*2) Alice is Arthur's aunt

Translations:

Что?- What?  
Ваша сестра?- Your sister?  
Да, моя сестра?- Yes, my sister?  
Ваша сестра... Она здесь?- Your sister... Is she here?  
Вы можете получить ее?- Can you get her? (Lit.- Can you get it?)  
Сестра!- Sister!  
Подожди здесь, я получу Катюша.- Wait here, I'll get Katyusha.  
Наталья! Я хотел бы пойти посмотреть этот аквариум вы говорите о. Теперь мы можем идти?- Natalia! I would like to go see this aquarium you're talking about. Can we go now?  
Да, да. Мы пойдем.- Yes, yes. We will go.


	7. 7

The next morning, Alfred woke up before his alarm clock had a chance to go off. He turned it off so it wouldn't, then sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was 6:42, so he had plenty of time to get ready. He sighed and got up, pulling out some clothes from his closet and going to the bathroom. After a little bit of fighting with his hair, he was ready. It still wasn't 7 yet. That's when Matthew usually got up, and that's what time he had set Alfred's alarm for. Alfred frowned, then decided to go start cooking breakfast to kill time. He hadn't cooked in a while though, so he hoped he wouldn't burn the house down.

After he had the eggs in a pan on the stove and there were some biscuits in the microwave, he heard Matthew's alarm clock go off. There was a moment of silence, then, " Alfred, are you cooking?" Alfred smiled. " Yeah, I got up early so I figured, why not give Mattie a break?" He called back, and finished the eggs. The microwave beeped, and Alfred got the biscuits out, putting them on the table with their plates. By the time he had the bacon going, Matthew was already dressed and in the kitchen. " You're sweet Alfred, but if I'm not doing something in the mornings I feel useless. So let me make the bacon, and you go... do something else." Matthew said, taking the fork from Alfred. " But I wanted to-" " I know you wanted to give me a break, but I like to cook for us. So really, I'm okay with cooking all the time." Matthew interrupted, and Alfred sighed. " Alright, you win." He said, and went back to his room to get his bag.

After they were done eating, Matthew grabbed his keys. " You ready to go, Alfred?" He asked, and Alfred nodded. He was about to say something when his phone went off. Looking at the caller ID, he saw it was Francis, and answered it hesitantly. " What do you need this early, Fran-" " It's Roderich. I got a call from the hospital last night, they said he's been asking for us to come and get him. They said they've told him he couldn't leave just yet, but he still wants to talk to us." Alfred nearly dropped the phone. " When you say us, do you mean-" " I mean myself, you and Arthur. He wants us to come now." Alfred bit his lip. " But what about school, if I don't go today, I could miss-" " Alfred, what's at school that you could possibly miss? This is our friend. We need to be there for him." Francis said, and Alfred sighed. " Alright, fine. I'll be there in a few minutes." " What about Arthur?" " ... I'll see if I can get him to come. Bye, Francis." Alfred said, then hung up.

" What's going on?" Matthew asked, and Alfred sighed again. " Francis got a call from the hospital. They say that Roderich wants us to come down there. So I'm not going to school today." He explained, and Matthew nodded. " I understand. Would you like me to give you a ride?" Alfred nodded. " Yeah, can you take me to Arthur's? He has to come too. I can just get a ride from him from there." Matthew nodded. " Yeah, sure. Come on." The two left and headed to Arthur's house quickly.

When they pulled up, Arthur was walking out to his car. " Arthur!" Alfred called, getting out of his brother's car and running up to him. " What is it? Why are you here-" " Francis called. We have to go to the hospital and see Roderich." Alfred said. Arthur's eyes widened. " Roderich? Is he okay?" He asked, and Alfred shrugged. " I don't know, Francis told me that he wanted us to come down there." Arthur sighed, then nodded. " Okay, lets go." He said, and got in his car. Alfred waved back at Matthew, telling him he was good to leave now. " Be safe, you guys." Matthew called, then backed out of the driveway and drove off to school. Alfred got in the passengers seat or Arthur's car, and as soon as the door closed, they were speeding to the hospital.

~~~page break~~~

When they pulled up at the hospital, Francis was standing at the front doors waiting on them. Alfred ran up to him. " What's up, Francis? Is Roderich okay, or-" " Hold on, Alfred. Roderich is okay, he's just... lonely, I guess. Though, when I got here, one of the nurses told me that when he first woke up, they had to sedate him because he was panicking... and he nearly stabbed his eye out with his IV." Francis said, and Alfred frowned. " Why would he panic? He knew he was in the hospital, didn't he...?" Francis shrugged, and Arthur ran up. " Well, are we just going to stand here, or are we going to go see Roderich?" He said, and Francis nodded, leading them to the room.

Roderich was awake in the room, though he was just laying there in his bed, staring at the ceiling. " Roderich, it's us." Francis said softly, tapping on the door as the three walked into the room. Roderich turned his head to look at them. " Hey..." He said, his voice cracking slightly, as if he hadn't had anything to drink in a while. " How're you doing?" Arthur asked, and Roderich shrugged slightly. " I don't know..." Alfred sighed and walked to the bedside, looking straight into the brunette's eyes. " Roderich.. why did you do this?" He whispered, gesturing to the bandages on his wrists. Roderich looked back at the ceiling and sighed, his eyes glassing over. " I... I couldn't think of... I just couldn't imagine life without Elizabeta... I just assumed that I was a terrible person if she would go to the length of cheating on me..." He trailed off, his voice cracking more.

Francis was by the bedside in a flash, holding Roderich's hands in his gently. " No, listen Roderich, you are an amazing person. It was her who was a terrible person. She should have just told you she wanted to break up, and she shouldn't have done what she did. You're not the one at fault here, trust me." He said, almost in a cooing voice. Roderich swallowed audibly, then burst into tears. Francis leaned down and hugged him, whispering in his ear while rocking back and forth slightly. Arthur and Alfred stood off to the side, feeling awkward and out of place. " I'm sorry..." Roderich said between sobs, trying to calm down. " I shouldn't be crying, b-but... I really loved h-her."

Francis pulled back away from Roderich and wiped the tears out of his eyes, smiling sadly at him. " We know you loved her, but I guess it's just time to... well, to put it bluntly, move on. It'll be hard, trust me, I know..." Francis's gaze slipped over to Arthur for a second, then back to Roderich. " But you'll find a way to get through it." The brunet nodded, " You're right... I'll try to move on..." He said, and Francis hugged him again, then stood up. " So, what do you want to do, we have all day." Alfred said, and Roderich looked at them. " You mean, you guys are skipping school to spend time with me?" Alfred nodded. " Yeah, we wouldn't want you to be all alone! When are they letting you out of here, anyway?"

Roderich shrugged. " I don't know... they have to keep me in here until they're sure I'll be okay, though..." Arthur scoffed. " Can't they just fix your wounds and let you out?" Francis looked at Arthur questioningly. " Have you never been to a hospital, Arthur? If there's a case like this one, suicide I mean, they're obligated to keep you in the hospital until they're sure you won't try it again." He said, and Roderich nodded. " Yes, so I don't know exactly when they'll let me out. And I'm sorry if I worried you... I promise, I won't try something like that again." Alfred smiled. " That's great, man. I'm glad you've come to your senses." With that, the four of them tried to come up with something to do the rest of the day.

After a couple hours, a nurse came in with a cart full of trays. " Lunchtime, Mr. Edelstein. Oh, it's you..." She stopped, looking at Francis. " Oh, hello!" Francis said with a wave. It was the nurse he had given his number to when they brought Roderich to the hospital. " I thank you again for calling when Roderich had woken up." The nurse smiled and sat a tray of food in front of Roderich, checking his antibiotics and heart rate, then with a nod to the three blondes sitting by the bed, left. Just then, Alfred's stomach growled. " Ah man, I think we should go get something to eat, too, guys." He said, and Arthur nodded. " Yeah, I think so too. Is it alright if we leave for a bit, Roderich?" He asked, and Roderich nodded. " Of course, I didn't ask for you to stay here with me all day anyway." Alfred dragged Arthur out of his seat, then looked at Francis. " Are you coming?" Francis shook his head. " No no, I'll stay here. I'm not hungry, and I don't want Roderich to be lonely."

Alfred and Arthur nodded, then left the Hospital, heading downtown to get some lunch. " I wonder why Francis was acting weird back there." Alfred said, frowning slightly. Arthur shrugged as he pulled into an Arby's. " I don't know, but it was weird. He wouldn't stop staring at Roderich, like something was wrong. Ah, what do you want?" Alfred shrugged. " Just order whatever. And maybe something's up with Francis? Like, he feels the need to watch over Roderich and make sure he really is okay or something." Arthur sighed and, after he ordered, pulled around to pay. " I guess, it's possible... he feels sympathy for him. Because he knows what it feels like to have to get over someone." Alfred stared at Arthur as he payed and their food was handed to him.

" When has Francis ever had to get over someone? I don't think he's ever even had a girlfriend." Alfred said, and Arthur's heart skipped a beat. " Actually..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. " There's a reason I don't like being around Francis that much." Alfred raised an eyebrow. " Last year, we... we decided that, just to try it... we started dating." Arthur said, looking out the window as he drove off, back to the hospital. Alfred's jaw dropped. " You... went out with Francis? You're gay!?" " No, I'm not gay! I said it was just to test it out! Turns out that I wasn't comfortable with it, so we called it off. Actually, it was more of a one-sided breakup. Francis found that he was, in fact, gay... when he actually developed feelings for me. That's why I don't really want to be around him. It's not like I regret us going out, it's just that it was so hard... seeing him cry like that. I don't want to have to see it again."

Alfred stared at Arthur until they got back to the hospital and Arthur parked his car. He cleared his throat. " Stop staring at me, idiot, and eat your food so we can get back to Roderich." He said, and Alfred blinked, then nodded. The two ate in silence, then when they were finished, headed back up to Roderich's room.

~~~page break~~~

After another few hours, Matthew showed up. " Hey guys, how're you doing?" He said, closing the door as he walked into the room. " Oh, hello Matthew." Roderich said, slightly startled. " Hello, Roderich. How are you?" Matthew asked, and Roderich smiled a bit. " I'm... better. Thank you." Matthew nodded at him, then turned to Alfred. " Oh, um... You remember how you told me about those Russians last night? One of the sisters- I think you said her name was Natalia? She came up to me today because she thought I was you... I told her I was your brother, and she apologized and stuff, but she told me to remind you that you promised to start tutoring her brother today. She said that since you were out you didn't have to in case you were sick or something, but I just wanted to tell you."

Alfred jumped up. " Oh shit! I completely forgot about Ivan! What time is it?" He said, looking at his phone. It was nearly four o'clock, and he didn't even know where they were going to meet up. " Damned it, I should have given her my number at least." Matthew raised a finger. " Ah, actually, the girl told me that if you did decide to come today, to give you this." Matthew handed his brother a slip of paper. Alfred sighed in relief. " Thank god, she wrote the address down. Guys, I have to go! Will you be alright without me here...?" Alfred asked, looking at Roderich, but his eyes strayed over to Arthur for a split second. Roderich nodded. " Of course, go. You shouldn't blow someone off just because of me. Besides, I have Francis and Arthur here."

Alfred nodded, then ran out of the room, calling for his brother to follow him. " Well, I should go. I'll come back by tomorrow. Bye guys." Matthew said, then walked out of the room, after his brother.

 

Alfred: 16, Sophomore (10th)  
Arthur: 17, Junior (11th)  
Matthew: 16, Sophomore (10th)  
Gilbert: 18, Senior (12th)  
Ludwig: 17, Junior (11th)  
Feliciano: 16, Sophomore (10th)  
Roderich: 17, Junior (11th)  
Francis: 17, Junior (11th)  
Antonio: 18, Senior (12th)  
Lovino: 16, Sophomore (10th)  
Ivan: 16, Sophomore (10th)  
Natalia: 15, Freshman (9th)  
Katyusha: 19, Senior (12th) ((When she moved to Ukraine, she had to wait a year before starting school there so she could make sure she knew Ukrainian enough to understand what they were saying, therefore she's a year older than most.))


	8. 8

Alfred was sitting on a worn tan couch, waiting on Natalia to get back from the kitchen. After he had made it to the address on the paper, Matthew left, leaving Alfred. Katyusha had answered the door when he knocked, surprising Alfred. After she had let him in, Natalia went and got Ivan, then headed into the kitchen. Ivan had sat down beside of Alfred, smiling. Alfred smiled back, giving a little wave. Just then, Natalia came into the room holding a glass. " Here you go, Alfred. I just made some lemonade." She said, handing the glass to him. Alfred smiled. " Thanks!" Then he remembered something. " Oh, um... Natalia, I have to tell you... When I told you I could tutor Ivan, I sort of forgot an important point-" " You can't speak Russian, can you." Natalia said. Alfred bit his lip and nodded. Natalia sighed. " I figured. You don't look like the kind of guy who would study a second language for fun."

Alfred scoffed. " Well! How rude!" Then he sighed. " But it's true. But! I can start learning Russian on the side." He said, and Natalia nodded. " Alright, as long as you can eventually understand Ivan yourself. I can only translate for so long, I'm still looking for a job after all." She said, and Alfred nodded. " Of course! I'm a pretty fast learner, so it shouldn't be that hard!" He said, sitting the glass down on the table. " So, where should we start?" Natalia looked thoughtful. " Maybe start with greetings, and the basics." Alfred nodded and turned to Ivan. " Um, okay, so... Natalia, does he know any English whatsoever?" Natalia shook her head. " I don't think so... Вы знаете любой английский, Иван?" Ivan shook his head. " Нет, я только знаю, как сказать привет..." " He said he only knows how to say hello." Natalia informed, and Alfred smiled.

" So, he knows how to say hello, huh... actually, I think we should start with teaching him his name. That's probably more important." Alfred said,and Natalia nodded. " Actually, now that you think of it, you're right. Aльфред научит вас, как сказать ваш имя на английском языке." She said, and they got started.

~~~page break~~~

It was nearly eight o'clock when Alfred got home. Natalia had driven him to the apartment complex, and he had thanked her and trudged lazily up the two flights of stairs. " Hey Mattie, are you here?" He called, and collapsed onto the couch. " Yeah, I'm here." Matthew called, coming into the living room. " How was your tutoring session?" He asked, sitting beside of his brother. Alfred shrugged. " It was okay, I guess. Ivan's got his name down-pat, and a couple other words. I honestly thought it would be harder than that, but apparently he's a fast learner." Matthew smiled. " I'm glad you aren't having too much trouble. But, what about you? You have to start learning Russian in order to-" " Yeah yeah, I know... Ah, I can't do all of this stuff at once!" Alfred groaned and buried his head in his hands.

Matthew patted his back. " Well... the next surfing competition isn't for four months... maybe you can take a break from practice for a few weeks." Alfred shook his head. " Arthur wouldn't let me. He's an asshole about my practicing." Matthew sighed. " Alfred, you can't keep having people tell you what to do, you know. You're nearly 17 years old. You aren't a kid." He said, getting up. " Now, I'm going to go start on dinner." Alfred raised his head and watched his brother disappear into the kitchen, then bit his lip. 'Mattie's right... I can't keep letting Arthur control me.' He thought, then decided he'd think about it overnight.

Thirty minutes later, dinner was done and Alfred and Matthew sat down to eat. " I think I'm going to ask Arthur about that tomorrow." Alfred said, and Matthew smiled. " Good idea. And remember, you don't have to take any shit from him. He isn't our mother, hell he's not even related to us." he said, and Alfred laughed. " Right!" After they got done eating, Alfred went to take a shower. After a long day, he needed to relax a bit. While he was standing under the hot water, he thought about what to say to Arthur. 'I have to be nice about it... unless he breaks out a can of douchebag on me. Then he'll be eating my fist.'

After a little bit, Alfred got out and dried himself off, putting on clean clothes and heading to the living room. Matthew was laying on the couch asleep, his head resting on the arm. Alfred shook his head. " Mattie, you haven't fallen asleep on the couch since we moved in here." He said, then sighed and picked him up, carrying him to his room. " Night, Mattie." Alfred whispered, covering Matthew up and flipping his lamp off. He closed Matthew's door and went back to the living room to cut the TV off, then went to his bedroom and layed down. After a few minutes of thinking, Alfred slowly drifted to sleep.

~~~page break~~~

The next morning, Alfred woke up to his alarm clock blaring right beside of his head. He jumped up and, growling, jerked the plug out of the wall. " Stupid thing." He grumbled, then sighed and headed to the bathroom. Matthew jumped in surprise when Alfred walked into the bathroom, causing him to nearly choke on toothpaste suds. " Alfred, you're up early." He said, and Alfred glared at him. " Because you keep setting my alarm! Well no more, hopefully I broke the cord in half." Alfred said, and Matthew rolled his eyes. " If that doesn't wake you up, I will." He said, and Alfred shrugged. " You don't sound like a dying parrot." He said, and Matthew giggled. " A dying parrot, Alfred?" " It's the only thing I can compare it to! Remember when Gilbert had that parrot and he forgot to feed it for a week and-" " Yes, I remember, don't bring it up." Matthew interrupted, shivering.

After the two were dressed, they left for school. Alfred hadn't heard anything else on how Roderich was, so he assumed Francis had it taken care of. When they got to school, Gilbert and Arthur were standing there waiting. Alfred sucked in a deep breath. If he was going to confront Arthur, it would have to be now. Matthew walked to Gilbert and kissed his cheek, and Gilbert blushed. " You two get a room." Alfred said, and Matthew stuck his tongue out at him. They walked away, leaving Alfred and Arthur alone. " What's wrong, Alfred, you're all stiff." Arthur said, and Alfred sighed. " Arthur, I have a lot to do... I have school, surfing, tutoring and I have to learn Russian if I'm ever going to do that right..." He said, and Arthur raised an eyebrow. " So...? Is it stressing you out? I thought you said you could handle it, Alfred." He said, and Alfred shook his head. " No, I'm not stressed, it's just that, I hardly have any time for myself or my friends." He said.

" Is that what's bothering you?" Arthur asked, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah... so, I have to ask you something." He said, and Arthur waited. " Would it be alright if I took a few weeks off from practice so-" " No." Arthur interrupted, and Alfred glared at him. " Look, you can't keep controlling me, Arthur, I-" " Without me, your life would be a complete mess! You have no clue how to balance your activities at all, and you don't ask anyone for help. You need someone to tell you what to do or else everything will spiral out of control." Arthur explained, and Alfred stared at him. " Are you fucking kidding me? This is my life, I know perfectly well how to control it! I don't need your help to, as you say, 'balance my activities'. I wouldn't need to balance them if you'd just stop forcing me to practice my surfing every other day. You know I can't get much better than I already am, so why do you keep pushing me so hard? Well I'm done, I'm not listening to you anymore. You aren't my parent, you aren't my brother. You aren't related to me in any way, shape or form, therefore you have no right to tell me what I can and can't do."

Arthur gaped at Alfred as he walked away. Alfred smiled. ' That felt good. I should stand up for myself more!' He thought, heading to class early. He passed Matthew and Gilbert on the way and decided to stop and talk until the bell rang. " Hey Mattie, it worked! I'm free!" He said, and Matthew smiled. " That's great, Alfred!" He said. " Wait, huh? What are you talking about, Alfred?" Gilbert asked, and Alfred shrugged. " Eh, just told Arthur off, now he's not going to control what I do anymore." Gilbert frowned. " You better hope he doesn't get too pissed at you. He's been known to hold a major grudge against anyone who's ever embarrassed him." Alfred rolled his eyes. " Ah, it's okay. There was nobody around, so he'll be fine." Just then, the bell rang, and they all went to their classes.

~~~page break~~~

After a long day at school, Alfred was glad to get out of there. Gilbert was coming home with Matthew, so Alfred had to deal with the albino's loud mouth. As they pulled out of the school's parking lot, Alfred remembered something. " Oh hey, Mattie, can you stop at the library? I need to get some books." He said, and Matthew and Gilbert turned to stare at him. " Are you okay, Alfred?" Gilbert asked, knocking on Alfred's head. He swatted his hand away and glared at him. " Why wouldn't I be?" " Well, it's just that, you and books don't really go together." Matthew said. " Mattie! I have to start on my Russian, remember? I can't exactly learn it without books. I mean, I could take an online course, but I don't have the money to do that." Alfred said, and Matthew nodded. " You're right, you're right. I'll stop at the library."

Gilbert laughed. " Oh yeah, Birdie told me about you making that stupid decision to tutor that Russian guy." Gilbert said, and Alfred hit him in the head. " Shut up, Gilbert. I just thought I'd be the hero and help the guy out. It's not my fault." He said, and Gilbert laughed and rubbed his head. " Yeah it is!" " Gilbert, stop picking on Alfred." Matthew scolded, and Gilbert smiled and turned around. " Aw, I was just playing with him is all." Matthew rolled his eyes and pulled into the library. " Alright Alfred, hurry up. We can't stay here forever, I have homework." Matthew said, and Alfred nodded and got out of the car.

As he walked into the library, Alfred spotted the girl from the party. " Hey, you're... Elisa, right?" He called, and the girl turned around. " Oh, Alfred! Hi! I thought we'd never see each other again! What brings you here?" She asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. " I'm learning Russian, so I have to find some books on that. Do you work here?" He asked, and Elisa nodded. " Yeah, it's a pretty easy job. All I have to do is check people in and out. It pays good, too. Oh, and if you're looking for foreign language books, they're in isle six in non-fiction." She said, pointing behind her. Alfred smiled. " Thanks! I'll be back up here in a bit, so don't go anywhere!" He said, and Elisa laughed. " I'm not, my shift doesn't end until five." She said as Alfred walked off.

After he found the section Elisa had sent him to, Alfred started debating which books would be best. There was a whole section of Russian, so it made his choices harder. After some time, he decided to get the three thickest ones. He was positive Matthew and Gilbert were getting impatient. " Hey again, I'm ready to check out." Alfred said to Elisa, and the girl turned around and sighed. " Hey, Alfred..." " What's wrong, you were just happy a few minutes ago." He said, and Elisa shook her head. " It's nothing, just, Elizabeta called in and said she was quitting, and-" " Wait wait wait, Elizabeta Herdevary?" Alfred interrupted, and Elisa nodded. " Yes, that one... she said she was moving, so she had to quit. It's nothing, really, but we have nobody else to take her job." Alfred frowned. " What was her job?" He asked. " She was the assistant manager, she was in charge of maintaining the inventory, meaning she was the one who made sure all items were checked back in on time and in good condition, then put back in their right place. She also answered phone calls and sent out letters to clients." Elisa said.

Alfred thought for a minute, then smiled. " You know, my brother's looking for a job. He's pretty organized, and-" " Alfred, what are you doing? We've been waiting out there for nearly thirty minutes. How long does it take to check out a couple books and get your butt out of here?" Matthew said, walking through the doors. " Sorry, Mattie, I was- Oh! Mattie, you're still looking for a job, right?" Alfred said, and Matthew raised an eyebrow. " Yes, but I've already checked around this part of town, there aren't any positions open." He said, and Alfred was about to say something when Elisa interrupted him. " Oh, I remember you! You came in here a few weeks ago looking for a job, but we didn't have any positions open. Well, if you're still looking, one of our employees just quit, maybe you'd like to look into the position." She said, and Matthew smiled. " That'd be great, actually. What would I have to do?"

After ten minutes of Elisa explaining to Matthew what he'd have to do if he took the job, Gilbert came in looking royally pissed. " What's taking so long?" He hissed, and Matthew poked his cheek. " Be patient Gil, I'm being offered a job." He said, and Gilbert's expression automatically brightened. " Really? That's great!" He said, and Alfred rolled his eyes. Not nearly soon enough, Elisa handed Matthew a card. " Here you go, when you come in you have to have the scanner scan this. You'll be checked in and you can start your day!" She said, and Matthew smiled. " Thank you, um, when will it be alright to start?" He asked. " Anytime that's convenient for you. You'll have to start before Monday though, we don't want the manager to get mad." Elisa said, and shook Matthew's hand. " Now, let me check Alfred out and you guys can be on your way."

With a sigh of relief from Gilbert, he and Matthew walked back out to the car. Alfred shook his head, smiling. " Sorry about Gilbert, he can be a bit impatient sometimes." He said, taking his books from Elisa after she had checked them out for him. " Oh, that's alright, he didn't really bother me. Anyway, thank you for recommending your brother, he seems like a really nice person. I can't wait to work with him." She said, and Alfred nodded. " Well, it wouldn't have worked out if he hadn't came in, so. Well, I'll see you later, Elisa, I should get home." He said, and Elisa nodded and waved as he left. Alfred decided he wouldn't tell Matthew exactly who he had replaced. He got in the car and Matthew drove home.

" Well, that was unexpected, but I finally got a job! I'm glad I came to see what was taking you so long, Alfred." Matthew said as they got to their apartment. Alfred grinned. " Good thing I was taking so long then, huh?" He said, and Gilbert shoved him. " No! I was about to drive off without you two! We were waiting for almost an hour!" He said, and Matthew patted his shoulder. " Gilbert, I think it was worth it. Calm down. I have to do my homework, so Alfred, will you start dinner please?" He asked, and Alfred nodded. " Sure thing, Mattie." He said, and put his bag down on the couch and headed to the kitchen to start cooking.

~~~page break~~~

After dinner, Matthew and Gilbert decided to watch a movie. Alfred decided to wash the dishes to make up for making them wait so long at the library, then he grabbed his bag and headed to his room. " Alfred, aren't you going to sit in here and watch the movie with us?" Matthew asked, and Alfred shook his head. " Nah, I've seen it a hundred times. Plus I have to start reading these books." He said, and Matthew frowned. " Don't work yourself too hard, Al. By the way, have you talked to Arthur since this morning?" He asked, and Alfred sighed. " No, he hasn't called me or anything. I'll see him tomorrow though, don't worry." With that, Alfred walked to his room and shut the door.

A few minutes after he had started reading one of the books, Alfred's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and nearly had a heart attack trying to answer it in time. " Yeah?" He said, and the person on the other line scoffed. " How many times have I told you not to answer your phone like that?" Alfred sighed in relief. " Sorry Arthur." He said, and Arthur sighed. " Look, Alfred... I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't know you felt that way, I just thought I was helping you. If you want to postpone your practicing, then you can. But don't push me away completely, okay?" He said, and Alfred grinned. " Thanks, Arthur! And I wasn't trying to push you away, I was just saying that I didn't need to be controlled anymore. We're still friends." He said. Arthur chuckled. " Yeah, I guess we are. Well, I was just calling to say that, so... I should go." " Yeah, I have to get back to reading." Alfred said. " Reading? Alfred, did Matthew put something in your dinner?" Arthur asked, his voice full of shock. " Nah, I cooked today! Anyway, see you tomorrow Arthur!" Alfred said, hanging up before Arthur could say anything else.

A few minutes later, Alfred sat up, his head swimming. He looked at his clock, then remembered he had unplugged it that morning. He turned his phone on, then his eyes widened. It was two in the morning. He must have fallen asleep, but he could have sworn he was awake five minutes ago. Putting his bag on his desk beside of his bed, Alfred got up and walked to the bathroom quietly, checking on his brother on the way. Matthew was curled up with his arm laying on Gilbert's chest, and Gilbert's head was resting on top of Matthews. Alfred smiled a little. He was glad his brother was happy, even if his boyfriend was a bit obnoxious at times. He closed the door and went to the bathroom, then headed back to his room.

As soon as he layed back down, Alfred was fast asleep.

 

Translations:

Вы знаете любой английский, Иван?- Do you know any English, Ivan?

Нет, я только знаю, как сказать привет...- No, I only know how to say hello...

Aльфред научит вас, как сказать ваш имя на английском языке.- Alfred will teach you how to say your name in English.


	9. 9

The next morning, Alfred was exhausted. He had only gotten about 6 full hours of sleep the night before. After he had gotten up at two, he was up and down for the next five hours. Matthew had scolded Alfred when he shuffled into the kitchen, telling him he looked terrible and that he told him not to overwork himself. Now that he was at school, Alfred felt more tired than ever. He was contemplating going back home, but groaned when he realized Matthew had taken the keys to the car with him. " Damned it... I've never been this tired on a school day." He grumbled, walking to his first class. Arthur hadn't been waiting on them today, as they had gotten there late due to Alfred's slowness.

Alfred glared at his shoes as he walked into English. His teacher sighed, counting him as late on her attendance sheet. After that, Alfred could barely keep his eyes open throughout the lesson. When the bell rang, he jumped and his elbow slid off the edge of his desk, causing him to smack his chin on the hard wood. A couple girls giggled at him as they went by, receiving a glare from him. Alfred finally made it to his next class, and ended up falling asleep halfway through the lesson. The next period was easier, they never did anything in Art anyway.

At lunchtime, Alfred tried not to roll his eyes at the sappy display his brother and Gilbert were making. " Gil, I told you, not in the middle of the cafeteria!" Matthew said, blushing at Gilbert's attempt to miss him. Gilbert pouted. " Aww, why not, Birdie? It's not like nobody knows we're together yet." He whined, and Matthew crossed his arms. " I'm just saying, it's best if we leave the lovey-dovey stuff for outside of school. We can still hold hands and stuff." He said. Ludwig and Feliciano weren't at school today, so he was alone with those two saps. Until, that is, Natalia and Ivan sat down at their table.

" Hi, Alfred. Matthew." Natalia said, and Matthew smiled. " Hello, Natalia!" " Hey Natalia." Alfred said, a slight smile appearing on his face. " What, no greeting for the awesome me?" Gilbert said, pouting once again. Natalia glanced at him and waved, then looked back at Alfred, missing the look of surprise and slight annoyance that crossed Gilbert's face. " What's up with you, Alfred, you don't look like yourself." She asked, and Alfred shrugged. " I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night is all." He explained, scooting his food around on his plate with his fork. " You couldn't have stayed home and caught up on that sleep?" Natalia asked, and Alfred shook his head. " No, I'm not going to miss a day of school just because I'm slightly tired." He said, and Natalia nodded.

" Okay, well, if you're too tired to come to our house this afternoon you-" " No, I'll make it. Really, it's not the end of the world just because I'm a little sleepy. I'll be fine after I get home and sleep for an hour or two, then I can be there." Alfred said, and Natalia sighed. " I'm not convinced, but I can't exactly tell you not to come if you want to." She said, and started eating. Alfred then remembered Ivan and waved. " Hey, Ivan." He said, and Ivan smiled. " Hello!" He chirped, his voice heavily accented.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. " I thought you said he didn't know any English?" He asked, and Alfred rolled his eyes. " Mattie, I told you he's a fast learner. He learned a couple words last night." He said, and Matthew nodded. " Oh yeah, you did say that, didn't you." After that, everyone ate in silence until the bell rang, then they headed off to their next classes. Alfred made it without falling asleep the rest of the day. When he got in the car, he sighed in relief and leaned his head against the window. " Hey Mattie, when are you starting your job at the library?" Alfred suddenly asked, remembering the night before.

" I'm starting today. After I drop you off at home, I'm leaving again to go start." Matthew said, and Alfred frowned. " Wait, but, if you're gone, how am I supposed to get to Ivan and Natalia's house?" He asked, and Matthew shrugged. " I don't know, maybe Arthur will take you." He suggested, and Alfred bit his lip. " Maybe he will..." He said. 'Hopefully...'

After they got home, Alfred walked to his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed. " Alfred, I'll be back around eight, I expect you back before then." Matthew said, and Alfred groaned. " Dude, since when did you turn into mom?" He said, and Matthew huffed. " I'm not, I'm just asking you to be responsible." " Who says I can't be responsible if I come home at like, ten?" " Alfred, I highly doubt you're going to have to stay at Natalia's place for five straight hours. Just please, be home by nine at the latest." Matthew said, and with that, left.

Alfred listened to his brother's footsteps until they disappeared out the front door, then he stripped down to his boxers, set his phone to wake him up at five thirty, then layed down on his bed and went to sleep.

~~~page break~~~

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Alfred's hand shot out and silenced his phone's alarm. He sighed and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. He felt better than he did earlier, that was for sure. He checked the time, and just as planned, it was five thirty. " Well, I guess I should call Arthur and ask him to drive me." Alfred said, getting up and slipping back into his clothes, then pressing Arthur's number on his phone. Speed dial was amazing. " Hello?" Arthur answered, and Alfred sighed. " Hey Arthur, can you drive me somewhere?" He asked. " I'm in the middle of doing homework, Alfred, I can't just-" " Please, Arthur, Mattie's at work and I need to get to Ivan's house so I can start the tutoring lesson for today!" Alfred whined, and Arthur sighed heavily.

" Fine, but I'll be damned if I'm coming to pick you up." He said, and Alfred smiled. " Thanks Arthur! Hurry up and get here!" Before Arthur could say anything else, Alfred hung up and slipped his phone in his back pocket. He grabbed his bag that held the books he needed and headed to the kitchen to get something to eat before Arthur showed up. He settled on a hotpocket and sat down on the couch, waiting. There was a knock on the door ten minutes later and Alfred jumped up, swinging the door open. " Hey, Art- Huh, Francis? What are you doing here?" He asked, and Francis pushed past him. " I just wanted to see how you were. I can't stay long, Roderich is in the car and we have to-" " They let him out?" Alfred interrupted, and Francis nodded. " Yes, they let him out this morning. That's why I wasn't at school today."

" How is he?" Alfred asked, and Francis shrugged. " He's pretty much as good as new, but he's already broken down twice since this morning." " Francis, that's not 'as good as new'. He's clearly still depressed as hell. You need to get him on some kind of medicine." Alfred said, and Francis raised an eyebrow. " I don't know what kind of medicine can heal a broken heart." He said, and Alfred rolled his eyes. " Look, it's not just that. The guy tried to kill himself. He's depressed, he needs medicine. He might even need therapy. I don't know, I'm not too good with stuff like that. Just, take him to the doctors and ask them what they think, and they should tell you what to do." Francis nodded, frowning. " I guess you're probably right..." He said, and Alfred was just about to say something when Arthur walked in the door.

" Alfred, are you ready to- Francis? What are you doing here?!" Arthur yelled, and Francis put his hands up in surrender. " I was just checking on Alfred, I was just about to leave. Anyway, I'll take him and get him checked out. Thank you Alfred, have a good evening you two." He said, then walked out. " What was he doing here?" Arthur demanded, and Alfred shrugged. " I don't know, I thought it was you at first, but it was him. He just came to tell me Roderich was released from the hospital this morning." Arthur's expression lightened immediately. " Oh, he was? Did he say how he was?" He asked. " He said he's already broke down twice since this morning, and I told him to take him to the doctors and get something done. He needs to be on some kind of medication for his depression." Alfred said, and Arthur nodded. " Yes, that would be best."

They stood there for a few seconds, then Alfred smiled. " Anyway, thanks for coming, Arthur! Lets go, I don't want to get there too late!" He said, and pulled Arthur out the door. Arthur barely had time to shut the door before he was dragged down the stairs down to the parking lot. Once they were on the road, Alfred had to tell Arthur how to get to Ivan's house, and Arthur nearly missed three turns. " Damned it! Speak up before we get two feet away from the turn!" Arthur yelled, and Alfred laughed. " You just don't have fast enough reflexes." Arthur looked like he wanted to choke Alfred. " I'm not supposed to NEED fast reflexes in a fucking car, you moron!"

After a few more yelled threats and curses, they finally made it, and Alfred jumped out of the car just as Arthur went to punch him in the head. " Fucking asshole! I'm not driving you anywhere unless I know how to get there!" He yelled, then drove off as quickly as possible. Alfred stared after him, then shook his head and walked up to the door. He knocked, and there was a shout from inside, then the door opened and Katyusha smiled. Alfred raised an eyebrow, looking at her clothes, which were covered in... " Is that paint?" He asked, and Katyusha laughed. " Yes, I forgot to mention that I was repainting the kitchen, didn't I? Oh well, please come in, Alfred." She moved out of the doorway, allowing Alfred to come in. " How far have you got then?" He asked, and Katyusha frowned. " Well, I've only got one wall done, and I have to go over all of them twice, so... I'm not doing that well." She said, sighing lightly.

" If you need help, I can always-" " Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that! You have enough to do with tutoring Ivan." Alfred shook his head, smiling. " Alright then, but if you ever need the help, I'm more than willing." He said, then walked down the hallway to Ivan's room. " Ivan? Natalia?" He called, poking his head in the door. He wasn't expecting to see Ivan sitting on the side of his bed, shirtless. Ivan jumped, blushing and pulling his sheet up around his chest. Alfred blushed and closed his eyes tightly, turning around in the doorway. " S-sorry- I didn't- sorry!" Alfred stammered, blushing deeper. " Alfred, what's wro- oh..." Natalia said, appearing from around the corner suddenly. " Мне очень жаль, я должен был положить на рубашке!" Ivan said, pulling a t-shirt over his head.

Natalia nodded to her brother and led Alfred back to the living room. " I'm sorry about that. Ivan doesn't like to wear shirts when he's at home, even though we tell him he should. Can I get you something to drink?" She asked, and Alfred shook his head. " No, that's fine..." He said, still blushing. Ivan may look like he has a slight layer of fluff when he wears that jacket of his, but he really has hardly any fat. Alfred gulped and shut his eyes tightly, willing away the image of Ivan's pale chest and his smooth-looking abs and- whoa. He didn't swing that way, why the hell was he thinking like that? Alfred broke out of his thoughts when Ivan sat on the other side of the couch and held up a book. It was a book in Russian, but Alfred recognized one of the words on the front as 'English'. " I gave him my books I used to learn English. He's been reading them all day since we got home, but that alone isn't too much good." Natalia explained, sitting in a chair beside of Ivan.

" So Alfred, how's your Russian coming along?" " It's kind of complicated, but I'm sure I can get the hang of it in time." Alfred said, a determined look on his face. " Well, how about we get started? My brother gets off work at eight and I should probably call him and ask him to pick me up on his way home. So that only gives us two and a half hours!" Alfred picked up his bag and opened one of the books to the last page they were on yesterday, then started on the next lesson.

~~~page break~~~

An hour later, Alfred was getting frustrated. Ivan was a quick learner, yes, but he was having trouble wording his sentences right. No matter how many times Alfred and Natalia corrected him, he always left out a word or shuffled a couple words around. It wasn't his fault, of course, but Alfred's patience were wearing thin. " Alright Ivan, one more time. ' Hello, my name is Ivan. It's nice to meet you.'" Alfred prompted, and Ivan sighed. " Hello, my name is Ivan. It is nice meeting you-" " No, it's- Ugh." Alfred rested his head in his hands. " Alfred, you can't expect him to be perfect already. This is only the second day you've tutored him." Natalia said, resting her hand on Alfred's back. Ivan bit his lip. " Alfred...?" He whispered, and Alfred and Natalia looked at him. " Ivan, you...?" Alfred said, trailing off. Ivan looked at him, his expression worried.

Alfred smiled and patted Ivan shoulder. " Okay, I'm sorry about that. Try again?" Ivan nodded. He must be understanding English better. " Hello, my name is Ivan. It's nice to meet you." He said, and Alfred and Natalia high-fived. " Yeah, you got it!" Alfred said, then turned the page in his language book. " I think that's enough for today actually." Alfred said, marking the page and putting the books back in his bag. " It's only seven, do you want to watch a movie or something?" Natalia offered, and Alfred smiled. " That works, I guess. I have to call my brother actually, I'll be right back." He said, then stood up and walked out onto the porch.

He pulled his phone out and called Matthew's cell, then remembered that it was probably off. " Damned it..." He muttered, staring at the screen for a minute, then putting it back in his pocket. " We can take you home if you can't reach your brother, Alfred." Katyusha said, leaning against the railing beside of Alfred. Alfred jumped a little, not knowing she was there. " Oh, thank you Katyusha, but I don't want to trouble you guys." He said, and Katyusha shook her head. " You wouldn't be troubling us. We consider you a friend, and we'll do anything for a friend." She said, and Alfred smiled. " Thanks." He said. " Alfred, Katyusha, the movie started. You should come in and sit down." Natalia called out the door, and Alfred and Katyusha walked inside to join the other two.

~~~page break~~~

Alfred had gotten so caught up in the movie and being around Ivan and his sisters that he didn't realize how late it had gotten until the end credits of the movie started rolling up the screen. He checked his phone and nearly choked. " Holy crap, it's nine thirty! Mattie told me to be home by nine!" He wailed, and turned to Katyusha. " I'm really sorry, but do you think-" " Of course I can drive you home. Just let me put some shoes on and we'll go." She said, a smile on her face. Alfred sighed and turned to Natalia and Ivan. He was about to say something when he realized they were both asleep. Natalia was curled in a ball on the recliner beside of the couch, and Ivan was leaned against the arm of the couch, his head resting on his shoulder. He looked so cute when he was asleep.

Wait, huh, what? ' What the hell, Alfred? You're starting to act weird. You should stop hanging around Francis.' He thought, then stood up when Katyusha came back into the living room. " Alright, are you ready?" She asked, and Alfred nodded, grabbing his bag. He followed Katyusha out to their car, looking back at the house before getting in the car. He gave Katyusha directions to his and Matthew's apartment carefully, not wanting to anger her like he had Arthur earlier. Once she pulled into the parking lot, Alfred smiled. " Thank you, Katyusha, I really appreciate it." He said, and Katyusha smiled and nodded. " Any time, Alfred. Tell your brother I said hello." Alfred nodded and got out, shutting the door and watching Katyusha drive away before he walked up the stairs.

When he opened the door, he was immediately bombarded by his brother's questions. " You're a bit late, aren't you? What did I tell you? Any longer and I would have called the cops! Why was your phone turned off?" Matthew asked, and Alfred rolled his eyes. " Mattie, jeez, it's only thirty minutes after nine. Calm down. We were watching a movie and I guess I lost track of time." He said, and Matthew huffed. " Well, whatever. Your dinner is in the microwave." He said, and Alfred dropped his bag on the couch and headed into the kitchen to eat. After he was done, he headed back into the living room and sighed. " I'm sorry I worried you Mattie. I just really lost track of time I guess." He said, and Matthew nodded. " It's alright Alfred." He said, and Alfred yawned. " You're still tired?" Matthew asked, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, I guess so. I think I should go to bed, I don't want a repeat of today. G'night, Mattie." He said. " Goodnight, Alfred."

Alfred took his bag to his room and dropped it beside of his bed, taking his clothes off and throwing them to a corner in his room, then plopped down on his bed. ' I wonder why I was thinking like that today...' He thought, frowning. ' I've never found a guy cute, let alone thought he was hot... but I didn't think Ivan was hot, it just took me off guard! That's all.' After a while, Alfred finally fell asleep.

 

Translations:

Мне очень жаль, я должен был положить на рубашке!- I'm sorry, I had to put on a shirt!


	10. 10

It had been nearly three weeks since Alfred had offered to tutor Ivan. He had taken those few weeks off of surfing practice so he could work on both teaching Ivan English and learning Russian. Matthew had earned enough money at his job already that they didn't need to borrow half the amount of money they used to from their mother to pay their bills. Arthur was hanging out with Francis more, if only to make sure he doesn't try and molest Roderich while he was staying at his house. Ivan had learned English enough that he didn't need to worry about studying every single day to remember how to phrase sentences or anything. Alfred had stopped learning Russian after he had memorized two of the three books he had got from the library. He only needed the basics, anyway.

It was finally Friday, and Alfred was excited about the weekend. He and his brother had decided that they were going to go to a water park just outside of Los Angeles. It was about a two and a half hour drive from their apartment complex. " So, Natalia, do you, Ivan and Katyusha want to come with us?" Alfred asked, walking out of school with the three. " I don't know, Alfred, it sounds fun, but Katyusha has to work tomorrow-" " I can take the day off, Natalia! It sounds fun, it'd be a great opportunity for us to take a break from everything." Katyusha interrupted, and Natalia looked at her. " But Kat, you need to work, won't they fire you if you miss anymore days?" Katyusha shook her head. " No, I can use one of my vacation days. It'll be worth it!" She said, and Natalia sighed.

" I guess that's a yes then. Do you want to go, Ivan?" Alfred asked, and Ivan nodded, smiling. " Yes, sounds fun!" He said, and Alfred smiled. He'd done good. Ivan was still in need of a bit more tutoring, though in another two or three weeks, his English would be pretty close to perfect. It was a little hard to decipher what he said sometimes because of his accent, but other than that, it was coming along greatly. " Alright then! I'll tell Mattie! You guys can ride with us, if you want. Mattie's car is pretty big, I'm sure you can all three fit in the backseat comfortably." Alfred said, and Natalia shook her head. " Ah, no. I think we'll be fine in our own car. Not that I have anything against riding with you guys, just... I'm not about to be squished between these two for anything." She said, and Katyusha smiled and rolled her eyes.

" Well, I should be going, Mattie gave me permission to drive home today since he went home with Gilbert. Oh yeah! I totally forgot! You guys wouldn't have fit anyway, Gilbert and Arthur are coming!" Alfred said, laughing. Natalia rolled her eyes. " Anyway, see you guys tomorrow! Be ready to go at nine o'clock sharp!" He said, then ran off to Matthew's car. He fished the keys out of his pocket, then got in and drove off.

~~~page break~~~

Once Alfred got home, he started packing the things he might need tomorrow. Sunscreen, swimming trunks, a camera, and some assorted chips in case he got hungry on the way there. By the time he was done, Matthew was home. " Hey Alfred, what's up?" He asked, shutting the door. Alfred shrugged. " Eh, just got finished packing my stuff." He said, and Matthew laughed. " You do realize we're only going for one day, right? I don't think you need to pack anything." " But it's only the essentials! I know we're only going one day, I just figured it's better to be safe than sorry." Alfred said, giving his brother a 'I-know-what-I'm-doing' look. Matthew just shrugged him off and headed to the kitchen. " Well, did you ask Natalia and the others if they were coming?" He called, starting dinner.

" Yeah, and they said they'll go! I can't wait Mattie, we haven't been to this place since we were little kids! I want to see the look on Ivan's face when-" Alfred cut himself off. He couldn't wait to see the look on everyone's face... why'd he say Ivan? It made no sense. These weird thoughts and feelings had been coming and going randomly for a while now, ever since that night he saw Ivan topless. He'd have thoughts that would pop up out of nowhere, things that made Alfred uneasy. And they were all about Ivan. He knew what the feeling in his stomach was when he got a little bit too close to Ivan for normal 'friends'. He knew what it was, it was- " Alfred, for christ's sake, listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Alfred jumped as Matthew slapped him in the head.

" H-hey! What was that for?" Alfred whined, rubbing his head that was sure to be hurting in a few minutes. " You just stopped talking in the middle of your sentence, I thought you'd fell into a coma or something." Matthew said, " Now, did you say they were going? They have everything they need, right?" Alfred shrugged. " I don't know what they'd need. Swimsuits and maybe a camera, but that's it. I'm sure they have everything." He said, and Matthew sighed and nodded. " Okay, you're right. Well, dinner is cooking, so we might as well watch some TV while we wait." He said, sitting down next to his brother.

Alfred turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels. Nothing was on, just like always. He turned it to the surfing channel and Matthew rolled his eyes, but said nothing. " - As our surfers begin to start their training for the biggest surfing competition in California. The 2013 Mavericks will have a fresh batch of young surfers who will do anything and everything to win. Oh, here's Carlos Hernandez! Maybe we can get a word with him. Mr. Hernandez, do you have a moment?" Alfred was glued to the screen as the reporter scurried across the sand to the large dark-skinned man she was addressing as 'Mr. Hernandez'. " Of course I have a moment." The man said, and Alfred immediately recognized a Cuban/Jamaican accent. " Mr. Hernandez, it is to my understanding that if you win this years Mavericks, it will be the fifth year in a row. How do you feel about that?"

Alfred barely blinked as the reporter and Hernandez talked, and Matthew jumped when the timer on the stove went off. He didn't bother trying to snap his brother out of the trance-like state he was in, it would od no good. He went into the kitchen to finish getting dinner ready, and hoped that by the time he did, Alfred would be done oogling the TV. " Thank you, Mr. Hernandez, and I'm sorry to have bothered you." The reporter said, and the man waved her off. " No no, it's quite alright ma'am. But I must be going now." He said, then disappeared. " Well, there you have it. Carlos Hernandez is a very positive and determined man when it comes to these types of competitions. I'm Ericka Vale, and it has been a wonderful day here at Half Moon Bay. Back to you, Bill."

" Hey Alfred, are you done acting like a zombie? Dinner is on the table, I don't want it to get cold." Matthew said, leaning against the kitchen doorway. Alfred blinked, then nodded. " Yeah, sorry Mattie." Alfred said, getting up and heading into the kitchen. " But dude, I completely forgot that it's time for the Mavericks! Oh man, I can't wait! This year's gonna be amazing, I just know it. I want to get enough money to head down to Half Moon Bay and watch it in person." Alfred said, stuffing his face. Matthew sighed. " Alfred, as far as I know, the Mavericks take place over the course of three days. Half Moon Bay is nearly six hours away, and god only knows how much a hotel room would cost this time of the year. If you can come up with most of that money in the three and a half weeks it is until the Mavericks, then I'll pay the rest, hell, I'll even kiss you." He said, and Alfred frowned. " Don't be so unsure, Mattie, I can do it." He said, and Matthew laughed. " Alright, mister hotshot, I'll go online later tonight and I'll figure out how much money you'll need. Then in the morning, you tell me with the same determination in your eyes that you'll make that in three weeks." He said, then continued eating.

Alfred rolled his eyes at his brother. It couldn't be that much money, for crying out loud. " Alright, Mattie." He said, then they finished eating. After they had washed their dishes, Alfred and Matthew took showers then settled down for the night. Alfred still had the TV turned to the surfing channel, but Matthew didn't mind. He was too busy texting Gilbert to care. ' Hey Gil, whats up?' ' Nutn Birdie, hbu?' Matthew held back his cringe. He hated text talk, but no matter how much he'd asked Gilbert to stop, he kept doing it. He said it 'made things easier'. Matthew just went with it. ' Sitting on the couch with Alfred. He's watching that surfing channel again, the Mavericks comp. is coming up.' Matthew sent, and looked up at his brother. " So Alfred, when are you going to start practicing again?" He asked, and Alfred frowned. " I don't really know. It's been so much easier to get stuff done when I don't have to practice every other day after school. Maybe I'll just wait until I find a competition I'm going to surf in and start practicing again a few weeks before it."

Matthew nodded. " That sounds like a good idea, actually. As long as you're okay with it." BEEP ' Oh gr8, Al n his surfing. Sry Birdie.' ' Why are you sorry?' BEEP ' U gotta share a house with him n his freakiness.' Matthew laughed. " What's so funny?" Alfred asked, and Matthew shook his head. " Just something Gilbert said." ' That's mean Gil. Anyway, I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep now, see you in the morning.' Alfred stretched and cut the TV off. " I'm tired." He said, and Matthew shook his head, smiling. " You either read my mind, or read my text. I just told Gil I was tired." BEEP ' Ok, gnight Birdie, love you.' ' I love you too.' " Well, I'm going to bed." Alfred said, standing up and heading to his room. " Remember, you have to get up at eight thirty so we can go pick everyone up!" Matthew called, and Alfred waved his hand at him and shut his bedroom door.

Matthew rolled his eyes, then pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. He was going to do some research before he went to bed.

 

Note: The Maverick comp. is a real thing, and it takes place in winter, at Half Moon Bay in Cali. I hereby disclaim that I did not like, plagiarise this event or whatever it's called when you put a real thing in a story and such. I know nothing about it other than the name and where/when it takes place, so don't kill me if the info I came up with is the farthest thing from right.


	11. 11

Note: I forgot to mention that Carlos Hernandez is Cuba.

 

" Alfred, wake up!" Alfred was startled awake by his brother's voice above him. " Wha- Mattie, what's wrong?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. " You overslept, Arthur has already called twice. You need to get up, get ready and we need to go!" Matthew said, and Alfred groaned. " I can't go that fast in the morning." He got up anyway, heading to the bathroom to get ready. Matthew tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Alfred to get done, and when he walked out of the bathroom, he sighed in relief. " Alright, let's go."

" Whoa Mattie, why are you in such a hurry?" Alfred asked, and Matthew shrugged as he walked out the door. " I guess I'm just excited? I don't know, I feel like we shouldn't keep anyone waiting any longer." He said, nearly tripping on the stairs. Alfred rolled his eyes and smirked. " You sure it isn't just because you wanna see Gilbert in nothing but swimming shorts?" He asked, and Matthew sputtered, his face turning red. " I-It's not that! And I'll bet you can't wait to see Ivan nearly naked, either!" At this, Alfred's face both drained in color and heated up. " W-what, I don't know what you're talking about, dude..." He said, getting into the passengers seat of the car.

" Yeah, right. Alfred, you have a crush on the guy, just admit it. You hardly ever shut up about him these days and you have all the symptoms of a love-struck school girl." Matthew said, starting the car and driving off to Arthur's house. Alfred didn't know what to say. Did he really talk about Ivan that much? " Mattie... I don't know. Maybe it's just that we're really close friends, and you're reading the signals wrong or something. I'm almost positive this couldn't be a crush." He said, and Matthew shook his head. " No, I'm almost positive it is a crush. He's the only one you want to hang out with anymore, Arthur and Francis are starting to think you don't like them anymore. And you saw how Feliciano looked at lunch the other day. He looked sad because he thought he'd annoyed you, so you didn't want to be his friend anymore."

Alfred shut his eyes tightly. ' I can't have a crush on a guy. I like boobs. I like boobs, a nice thin body, not too scrawny but not too muscled either, with prominent abs and one of those v-lines leading down to- whoa holy shit.' Alfred jerked his head up and yelled, " Mattie, I think I'm turning gay!" Matthew jumped, then sighed. " Alfred, you don't just turn gay. You're probably just curious. Ivan is the first guy you've liked." He said, and Alfred shook his head. " No Mattie, Ivan is the first person I've thought about like this, period. It's not just sexual fantasies anymore."

Matthew gave Alfred a weird look. " So you admit, you've been thinking about Ivan sexually..?" He asked, and Alfred groaned. " N-no, I meant... " He sighed heavily. " Yes, okay. But don't you dare tell anyone or so help me I'll-" " Yeah yeah, I know. So, what are you going to do about this?" Matthew interrupted, and Alfred frowned. " Do about what?" " You're crush? Are you going to ask Ivan out, or what?" Alfred bit his lip. What if Ivan was straight? Or what if he was gay, but he didn't like Alfred that way? In that case, if he asked him out, they would probably be too awkward to be friends. " No... I don't want to risk our friendship." He said quietly, and Matthew gave him a sympathetic look. " Alfred, I'm sure if it doesn't work out the way you want it to, you can always explain it to him and-" " No, Mattie. Just drop it."

The rest of the ride to Arthur's house was silent. Once they got there, Alfred immediately cheered up. " Hey Artie, it's been a while since we could hang out! How've you- what the hell?!" Alfred stopped in the middle of Arthur's doorway, taking in the scene before him. Arthur came around the corner and glared at Alfred. " Be quiet you idiot, they're still asleep." He said, and Alfred blinked. " Why are they here?" He asked, Matthew joining him and raising an eyebrow. He looked down at the couch, where Francis and Roderich were asleep, cuddling closely. " They came over last night, and Roderich fell asleep. Francis didn't want to wake him up so I agreed that they could stay the night as long as they were out of my house by the time I got home." Arthur explained quietly.

" So... what are they?" Alfred asked, and Arthur looked at him quizzically. " What do you mean?" " I mean, are they dating?" Alfred said, and Arthur nodded. " Yes... I didn't think it was such a good idea at first, but Roderich does seem happier in some ways. Francis promised me he wouldn't try anything until Roderich asked for it..." He said, shivering. " Just the thought of it is disgusting. But anyway, are we going?" Matthew nodded. " Yes, we have to go by Ludwig's house to get Gilbert, and then we're going by Ivan's house so they can follow us there." The three of them loaded into the car, then drove off.

" We'd better enjoy our peace and quiet while we still can..." Arthur grumbled, and Matthew rolled his eyes. " Gilbert isn't that bad, at least he's fun to be around." He said, and Alfred nearly choked on his own saliva. " Ooooooooh! I think that was a burn, Arthur!" He howled, laughing. Matthew smiled at his brothers idiocy. Arthur just mumbled something and stared out the window. When they arrived at Ludwig's house, Gilbert was waiting outside on the porch. " What the hell took you guys so long? It's almost nine, you told me to be ready and waiting at eight thirty!" He said, hopping in the backseat next to Arthur. " Sorry Gil, Alfred overslept. And you know how he is in the mornings." Matthew said, and drove off to Ivan's house. " Yeah well, he should have set his alarm clock or something. Alfred, you're pretty dumb sometimes." Gilbert said, and Alfred glared. " I hate alarms, they always make me crankier int he mornings. Besides, I broke my alarm clock." He said, and Matthew gasped.

" You broke it!? Alfred, that alarm clock was almost twenty five dollars! It was the most expensive one I could find!" He said, and Alfred pouted. " But I didn't mean to! I jerked it out of the wall and the cord kinda snapped in half." Matthew sighed and shook his head. " Well you aren't getting another one." He said, and Alfred secretly thanked the heavens. He hated alarms. " So Alfred, I heard you were orgasming over that surfing competition that's coming up." Gilbert said, and Matthew smiled. " Oh yeah! Remember what we talked about last night, Alfred? Well, I did some online searching and came up with an estimated total of how much everything would cost." He said, handing Alfred a piece of paper with the numbers written on it. Alfred made a choking noise. " Fucking $1,578 dollars!? I can't come up with that in such short time!" He said, and Matthew nodded. "Yes, so it looks like you won't be going to see the competition live this year. Oh, and that doesn't include the gas for a 16 hour drive."

Gilbert and Arthur laughed in the back. " You seriously thought you could make enough money to drive to Half Moon Bay, stay there three days, then come back?" Arthur asked, and Alfred frowned. " Hey, I didn't realize it'd be this much money!" He said, as Matthew pulled up at Ivan's house. " I'll be right back, guys." Alfred said, getting out of the car and running up to the front door. Katyusha answered when he knocked. " Oh, Alfred, you're finally here! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about us. Come on in, Natalia and Ivan are getting ready." She said, and Alfred smiled and walked in. " So, have you guys ever been to a water park or anything? I mean, I know it's cold in Russia and all, so I don't think they have water parks there. Or do they?" Alfred asked, truly curious. Katyusha shrugged. " I really don't know. I've never heard of any water parks there. Amusement parks with water rides, yes, but the water is kept fairly warm, so I don't think it's the same. And we've never been to a water park." She replied, just as Natalia and Ivan came into the living room.

" Oh, Alfred, you're here. It took you long enough." Natalia said, adjusting a strap under her shirt. " Well, Mattie didn't wake me up in time, and..." Alfred trailed off when his eyes landed on Ivan. He was wearing a pair of dark blue swim shorts and brown flip flops, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Alfred tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. Ivan's body was... beautiful, for lack of a better word. He was just the right size, not too skinny, but not so muscled that he looked gross. His abs weren't too large, but they were still noticeable. His chest was pale and smooth looking, so much that Alfred's hands twitched from the urge to touch it. He had a perfect v-line, with a trail of pale silvery hair leading down into those shorts. His oogling was interrupted by a white t-shirt. " Thank you, Ivan. I told you you have to wear a shirt until we get there." Natalia was saying, and Alfred blinked.

" Oh, um, what did you say?" He asked, and Natalia gave him a weird look. " I just told Ivan to put a shirt on for the third time this morning. Weren't you paying attention?" She said, and Alfred shook his head. " Nah, I was paying attention, I just didn't understand you that well. I just woke up a little while ago, I guess my brain hasn't caught up yet. So, are you guys ready?" Alfred asked, and the three all nodded their heads. " Alright then, lets go!"

~~~page break~~~

Two hours later, the two cars pulled up the water park. Gilbert and Alfred jumped out immediately, cheering that they were finally on ground again. " If you can't handle riding in a car for two hours, why do you think you could drive one for eight?" Arthur asked, and Alfred shrugged, then ran back to Katyusha's car. " C'mon you guys!" He said, pulling Natalia out of the car, then Ivan. Natalia rolled her eyes. " Alfred, you're acting like a little kid." She said. " I haven't been to this park since I was a little kid, I think I'm entitled to be excited." Alfred said, and Katyusha laughed. " Natalia, let him be happy." She said, and the seven of them headed up to the gates. " Ivan, have you ever been to any place like this?" Alfred asked, and Ivan shook his head. " No, never. It looks fun!" He said, and Alfred smiled. His accent was cute. Wait huh? ' Not right now, Alfred. Now is a time to relax and have fun.'

Once they were inside, Gilbert and Matthew ran off, and Alfred pulled Ivan to an ice cream stand, since it was already almost 90 degrees out. Arthur, Katyusha and Natalia stood there awkwardly, until Arthur decided that he should just have fun and led them away. They went to find a slide that looked fun enough to start their day out. Alfred and Ivan got their ice cream then walked around a while. " So, I know we haven't done anything yet, but do you like this place?" Alfred asked, and Ivan nodded. " Yes!" He said, and Alfred smiled. " Good! Ooh, that was my favorite ride when I was little!" Alfred said, pointing to a tall water slide that wasn't too far away. " You wanna do it?" Alfred asked, his eyes shining. Ivan smiled. " Of course!" The two ran for it, finishing their ice cream just as they reached it. The line wasn't too long, since it was only eleven thirty, so they didn't have to wait too long. Alfred went down first, his childhood flooding back, making him laugh happily.

" C'mon, Ivan!" He called up the slide, swimming away from the end and nearly bumping into a couple kids. Ivan hesitated for a split second before sliding down, making a hue splash when he reached the pool below. When he came back up, Alfred laughed. It was the first time seeing Ivan's hair wet, and it was just long enough that it covered his eyes, blinding him. " Ivan, you think you should cut your hair?" Alfred said, both getting out of the pool. Ivan shook his head. " No, I like it this length." He said, laughing. The two ran off to another, taller slide, then another, and another, until they were panting heavily and in need of a break. Alfred pulled his phone from his bag, checking the time. " Wow, it's almost one. I'm hungry, I didn't eat breakfast. Wanna get something to eat?" He asked, and Ivan nodded.

They headed to the nearest restaurant shack and got some burgers, then sat down on a nearby bench to eat. " This is a really big water park, maybe you wanna get a map and decide where to go next?" Alfred said in between bites, and Ivan shook his head. " No, it's okay, you can decide. I'm having fun just being here, so it doesn't matter where we went next." Alfred raised an eyebrow. " It's 'go'." " What?" The blonde sighed. " It's ' so it doesn't matter where we go next', not 'went'. That's okay, I knew you still needed practice, I just felt like it'd be good to correct you." He said, and Ivan nodded. " Right, sorry." " It's okay, dude! So lets go have some fun!" Alfred said, finishing his burger and pulling Ivan up, dragging him off.

~~~page break~~~

It was nearly five o'clock by the time everyone met up at the entrance gates. " Whew, that was so fun!" Gilbert said, stretching. " I know, right! Today was amazing!" Alfred said, grinning like a maniac. Then he gasped. " Oh but wait! There's one more thing I want Ivan to do before we leave!" Ivan looked at Alfred questioningly. " What would that be?" Alfred gestured to a sign that said ' Turbo Blaster'. " I want you to do on that." He said, and Ivan looked hesitant. " I don't know... that looks pretty... scary." He said, and Alfred rolled his eyes. " Ah, c'mon, it's not scary. You just climb in that log thingy, and a blast of air sends you down that tube and into the pool below! It's just a really fast water slide." He explained, and Ivan sighed. " If you really want me to, I guess I could." " Awesome!"

With that, Alfred pulled Ivan off, calling back to the others to wait at the gate for them. When they arrived at the slide/tube, Ivan gulped. It was really high, higher than anything else he'd ridden that day. " I'm not so sure, Alfred..." " It'll be fun, trust me. Go on." Alfred said, giving Ivan a push toward the gate. " W-what, you aren't coming?" Ivan asked, and Alfred shook his head. " Nah, I don't think it's that fun anymore. I used to ride it all the time, so it's not that great now. But I know you'll love it, because it's your first time!" He said, and Ivan hesitated, then nodded and walked up the ladder. Alfred watched as Ivan climbed to the top, then as the lifeguard instructed him to lay down flat and relax, then put his hand on his hip and watched as Ivan was shot down the tube. It took a second for Ivan's head to emerge from the pool, as it was ten feet deep to ensure nobody would bash their heads. When he came up, there was a huge smile on his face. " That was amazing!" He called, and Alfred laughed and went to help him out.

" I told you you'd love it!" He said, grabbing Ivan's hand and pulling. " I was scared at first, but that was... just, great!" Ivan said, shaking his hair from in front of his eyes. Alfred was about to say something when they both slipped, falling onto the tiles beside of the pool. Alfred groaned as his head cracked against the ground, then his eyes shot open when he realized the... position they were in. Ivan was on top of Alfred, his hands on either side of his head, and sitting on his hips. Ivan was saying something, but everything was still muffled from the impact, and his vision was slightly blurred. Alfred could feel his face heating up, and when he tried to speak, nothing came out. Finally, Ivan got off of Alfred and pulled him up, holding onto his shoulders as the slightly shorter teen regained his balance.

" Alfred, are you okay? Say something!" Ivan said, and Alfred blinked, looking at Ivan. His face was still really hot, and his vision was still a bit blurry, but he could finally hear. " I... I'm okay." He said, and Ivan sighed in relief. " Thank god, I thought you had lost it." He said, and Alfred rubbed his eyes, willing the blurriness away. " Lets just get back to the others." He said, and Ivan gave him a weird look. " Are you sure you're okay, Alfred? Your face is really red, and your voice sounds different..." He said, placing a hand on the side of Alfred's head. Alfred resisted the urge to lean into the touch and nodded. " Y-yeah, I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting that, is all. I'll be fine, lets go. The others are probably wondering what's taking so long." He said,and the two walked back to the gates.

" Hey, what took ya? We were about to leave!" Gilbert called, and Matthew looked at his brother worriedly. " Alfred, you don't look so hot. What happened?" He asked, and Alfred shrugged. " Eh, we slipped and I hit my head, no big deal." He said, and Arthur frowned. " Are you sure? You might have a concussion if you hit your head hard enough." " I said I'm fine, guys! Can we just go? I'm really tired, I wanna go to sleep." Alfred said, and rubbed his eyes again. " No. You aren't going to sleep if there's a chance you have a concussion." Natalia said, crossing her arms. " And besides, it's only five in the afternoon, you aren't going to sleep this early." Matthew said, and Alfred groaned. " But I'm tired!" Ivan grabbed Alfred's arm. " Alfred... I think you should try and stay awake until tonight. You can come to our house, and we can do something, like watch a movie." He said, and Alfred looked around, trying to hide the blush that had just intensified. " I guess I could... if it's okay with Natalia and Katyusha."

" Of course it is." Katyusha said, her voice sounding worried. Matthew nodded. " Go with them, I'll see you later tonight." He said, his eyes sparkling. Alfred knew what his brother was thinking, and he'd call him out on it when he got home later, but right now he could care less. " Alright. Lets go then." Alfred said, and everyone headed out of the gates and to their cars. Alfred sat in the back with Ivan, and Natalia and Katyusha turned the radio to something fast, in order to keep Alfred from getting more tired. " When we get home, Natalia, will you help me bring up the box of movies in the basement? We'll need something to keep Alfred busy." Katyusha said, and Natalia nodded. " I'm sorry to trouble you guys." Alfred said, and Katyusha shook her head. " Don't you say that, Alfred, you know it's no trouble!" She said, and Natalia nodded, agreeing. " You're always welcome at our house." Ivan said, smiling. Alfred smiled back. " Alright... thank you guys."

Once they got back, Alfred was feeling a bit less tired. It must have been the impact of his head hitting the ground that made him feel sluggish, along with the long day he had. " We're going to go get those movies, Ivan, you and Alfred go ahead inside and get something to drink." Katyusha said, handing a key to Ivan. Ivan led Alfred onto the porch, unlocking the door, then they went inside. " I'll get you some cola, is that alright?" Ivan asked, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, that's fine. Thanks." He said, and Ivan disappeared into the kitchen. Katyusha and Natalia came through the door carrying a large Tupperware box and sat it on the floor in front of the TV. " Here you go, you and Ivan can watch some of these." Katyusha said. " What about you guys?" Alfred asked, and Natalia sighed. " Katyusha forgot that we had hardly any food in the cabinets, so we're going grocery shopping. We figured that by the time we get back, you'll be hungry, so you can have dinner here, with us." She said, and Alfred frowned. " But-" " Don't you 'but' me, you're eating with us, and that's final." Natalia said, and walked out of the room before Alfred could say anything.

" It's alright, Alfred, we'd love for you to eat with us. But right now, we have to go, so we'll see you later." Katyusha said, and followed her sister out. Ivan walked into the living room and handed Alfred a glass of soda, and Alfred thanked him. " My sisters are weird sometimes, I'm sorry about their leaving." Ivan said, and Alfred shook his head. " Nah, it's fine. So, you want to watch a movie now?" He asked, and Ivan nodded, pulling the box toward them and sitting on the couch beside of Alfred. " What would you like to watch? We have a lot of movies in English, and some in foreign languages, too." He asked, digging through the movies. " Something in English, I don't feel like trying to translate any different languages." Alfred replied. " And something funny. Maybe if I get laughing, I won't feel like sleeping."

Ivan nodded, searching through the different movies. After a while, he found one that he hadn't seen, and Alfred agreed, relaxing as Ivan popped it into the DVD player.

~~~page break~~~

Halfway through the movie, Alfred stopped paying attention. He was contemplating his feeling about Ivan. ' I guess it really is a crush... but I don't want him to find out, because he might not want to be my friend anymore...' Alfred sighed lightly. He really didn't know what to do. " Hey Ivan... I'm bored of the movie. Why don't we just talk?" Ivan raised an eyebrow. " Talk about what?" Alfred shrugged. " I don't know, just, ourselves. I mean, the only thing I know about you is your name and where you came from. It's weird not knowing more." Ivan nodded, " I guess you're right. I'd like to know more about you, too. So, where would you like to start?"

" How about, our family?" Alfred suggested, and Ivan nodded. " Alright. Well, my mother and father are still in Russia, and I have a few cousins there, too. I only say a few because I never really got to know any of my family that wasn't immediate. I'm the middle child, Natalia the youngest and Katyusha the oldest. When Katyusha was eight, she moved to Ukraine with our aunt, because she wanted to live with her and her daughter, Svena. Natalia and I have always relied on each other, because our parents both worked, and were hardly ever home when we were. It wasn't such a bad thing, because we knew it couldn't be helped. After Natalia heard that Katyusha was moving here to America, I jumped at the chance for a different life. I was tired of not making my own decisions, and so was Natalia. So she called Katyusha and asked her to take us with her, and here we are." Ivan said.

Alfred blinked. That was a slightly different story than he had expected. " Whoa... I'm sorry about your parents..." He said, and Ivan smiled. " No need to be sorry, Alfred. We talk every now and then, and they're happy that we have a nice life here. So what about you?" He said, and Alfred took a deep breath. " Well... my mom is in San Diego. She shares an apartment with her sister, and works at the nursing home where my grandma stays. My dad... he died when I was around five." Alfred paused. " I'm sorry..." Ivan said, but Alfred waved him off. " Nah, it's okay. Uhm... he was a surfer, that's why I want to be one, too. Follow in his footsteps and all. Anyway, he was in a competition once and, there's this place where there's a bunch of really sharp coral and stuff, and he... crashed there. He was impaled... a lot." Alfred felt his chest tighten. He hadn't talked about his dad in years.

Ivan put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. " You don't have to continue, Alfred..." He said, but Alfred shook his head. " I'm fine... yeah. And then there's Mattie, and we have a cousin in Arizona named Enrique, he's pretty cool. When we were younger, he used to come down every summer and we'd always get in trouble with the police for vandalizing the empty buildings on the other end of town." Alfred said, smiling. Ivan smiled and took his hand off of his shoulder. " So you were a little troublemaker, hm." He said, and Alfred laughed. " Yeah, me and Enrique were the ones who always got in trouble, Mattie was too much of a baby to ever actually do anything."

Ivan laughed with him, then they continued telling each other the ins and outs of their lives, until Katyusha and Natalia got home. They helped them carry in the bags of groceries, then Alfred offered to help put them up, but Natalia kicked him out of the kitchen until they were done. " I'm sorry about her, she can be... weird." Ivan apologized, and Alfred laughed. " Ah, it's okay." He said, and Katyusha smiled. " Well, I have dinner on the stove, and it should be done in about twenty minutes, so lets sit down and wait!" She said, and the four of them sat in the living room and talked until it was done. After a bunch of scrambling and yelling, on Natalia's part, the four of them settled down at the kitchen table. " I still feel like I'm mooching you guys off." Alfred said, taking a bite of his food. " But, this is really good, Katyusha." Katyusha smiled. " Thank you. And you aren't mooching us off, you're welcome here. Now hush and eat before it gets cold."

After they were done eating, Alfred demanded that he do the dishes. " No! Alfred, you're our guest, and you're going to sit back and relax!" Natalia growled, and Alfred glared at her. " Damned it, no! I'm not going to 'sit back and relax' and let you guys take care of me like I'm a baby! I wanna help so I don't feel like I'm taking advantage of you guys!" He said, and Natalia looked like she was about to scratch his eyes out. " I'll help Alfred with the dishes, Natalia, just stop being rude to him." Ivan interrupted, standing between them. " But-" " No buts, Alfred. You want to do something, all right. But you aren't allowed to do it alone." Ivan said, and Natalia 'humphed' and walked away. Ivan smiled at Alfred and pulled him to the sink. They started on the dishes, and after a few minutes and an almost-bubble fight, they were finished.

" Wow, now I really am pooped." Alfred said, leaning against the counter. Ivan shook his head, laughing. " Alfred, you're always tired. Well, if you want, you can stay the night here." He said, and Alfred glared at him. " No way! I've already caused you guys enough trouble, I'm not about to ask if I can stay the night!" " You don't have to ask, I already called your brother and told him you wouldn't be home tonight." Natalia interrupted, standing in the doorway, holding Alfred's cellphone. Alfred scoffed, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. " N... Natalia! I don't want to-" " I don't care!" Natalia said, tossing Alfred his phone, then walking away. Ivan held back a laugh at the look on Alfred's face. " So, do you want to go to sleep now, or do you want to watch another movie first?" He asked, and Alfred sighed.

" I guess we can watch another movie first..."

~~~page break~~~

After the movie went off, Ivan stretched the best he could without waking Alfred up. He had fallen asleep near the ending, so he was still not completely asleep, and he looked too cute to wake up. Ivan looked down at the teen's sleeping face, his head laying on his shoulder, and smiled. He really was adorable. Ivan brushed a piece of hair out of his face, then shifted him into his lap, standing up carefully so he wouldn't shake him too much. Katyusha and Natalia had went to bed after dinner, so they were already fast asleep. Ivan turned the TV off and walked down the hallway to his room, placing Alfred on one side with his back facing Ivan, and covered him up. Ivan changed into his pajamas instead of sleeping in just boxers like he usually did, then slipped under the covers with his back to Alfred. He fell asleep a few minutes later.


	12. 12

Note: This super short chapter is in Ivan's point of view.

 

" Are you sure you want to use one of your vacation days to go to a silly water park, Katyusha?" Natalia asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. " It's not just a silly water park, Natalia, it's the first time we're getting the chance to go to one! Plus, it does sound like fun, and I've been in need of a day off." Katyusha replied, sitting a glass of cola beside of Ivan. " Thank you." Ivan said, taking a sip. He wanted to go, because it really did sound like fun. And the way Alfred talked about it, it must be worth it. He sounded so happy and excited that it was nearly impossible to deny him. Ivan nearly choked on his soda as he realized what he was thinking.

" Ivan, are you okay?" Katyusha asked, patting his back. " Y-yes... I'm alright, just got choked a bit." He said, standing up. " Anyway, I think it'd be fun to go and have some time for ourselves." Katyusha said, and Ivan nodded. " Yes, I want to go." He said, then walked off to his room.

Why did this have to happen to him? He was happy that Alfred had offered to tutor him in the first place, then he was really happy that Alfred would be his first friend here, and now... Ivan sighed and flopped back onto his bed. " I don't want to like him like this..." He whispered, and rolled onto his side. He had developed a crush on Alfred a week before, and he knew if the other ever found out, he would never look at him the same again.

Ivan groaned. " What's wrong, Ivan?" Katyusha asked, standing in the doorway of his bedroom. Ivan tensed, then sighed. " Well... I like Alfred." He said, and Katyusha smiled. " We all like Alfred, what's wrong with that?" She asked, and Ivan shook his head. " No, I like Alfred." He said, putting emphasis on the 'like'. Katyusha sighed. " I know what you mean, Ivan... I was hoping you'd try and work this out for yourself. What do you think you should do?" She asked, sitting beside of Ivan on his bed. Ivan shrugged. " I don't know... I don't want to tell him, because he's so obviously straight..." he said. " I don't know... I've seen the way he is around you. He always looks happiest when he's with you. Maybe he likes you, too. He may not realize it, but there's a chance." Katyusha said.

Ivan bit his lip. It could be true... but he didn't want to take any chances. He didn't want to lose his only friend. " I believe you, Katyusha, but I still think it'd be best to keep it from him until I'm for certain." He said, and Katyusha nodded. " I respect your decision, Ivan. Now, get some sleep. You'll need your energy tomorrow." She said, and kissed Ivan's forehead. " Good night, Katyusha. Tell Natalia I said good night, as well." He said, and Katyusha smiled. " I will. Good night Ivan."

As she walked out, she cut Ivan's light out and shut the door halfway, leaving him to get changed and go to sleep. Ivan stripped down to his boxers and covered up, sighing. He really liked Alfred... but he liked having him as a friend, too. Oh well, he was too tired to think about this right now. He closed his eyes and got comfortable, then fell asleep.


	13. 13

Note: Back to Alfred POV.

 

The next morning, Alfred felt much better than he had the night before. His head didn't hurt anymore, and he wasn't as tense. He stretched, then rolled over in his bed. Wait... ' I don't remember going home last night...' Alfred opened his eyes and gasped, falling off he side of the bed. " I-Ivan!?" He yelled, and Ivan jumped up. " What!?" He said, then looked down at Alfred and laughed. " H-hey, don't laugh at me!" Alfred said, his face heating up. " I'm sorry... you just look so silly down there, your face is like a tomato." Ivan said, reaching down to help him up. Alfred grumbled and took his hand, standing up. " Right... so why were... uhm, why were we in the same bed..?" He asked, looking anywhere but Ivan. " I thought you'd be more comfortable on my bed than on the couch." Ivan said simply. " Now come on, Katyusha is cooking breakfast." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Alfred alone.

Alfred blushed deeply and covered this face with his hands. He had been sleeping in the same bed as Ivan... What if he had said something in his sleep? Oh god, this couldn't get any worse. " Are you coming, Alfred?" Ivan asked, popping his head in the room. Alfred jumped, then nodded. " Ah, yeah. I'm coming." He said, then followed Ivan to the kitchen, where Natalia and Katyusha were cooking. " Good morning you two!" Katyusha said cheerily, and Alfred groaned inwardly. It was too early for anyone to be that happy, even if it was nine in the morning. " Morning." Alfred said, rubbing his eyes. Ivan smiled and a blush spread across his face, but he turned away before anyone could notice. " How do you like your coffee, Alfred?" He asked.

" How do you know I like coffee?" Alfred asked, sitting at the table. " You seem like the person who would drink it, now how do you like it?" Ivan asked again, pulling a coffee cup from a cabinet. " Two scoops of sugar and a little creamer." Alfred answered, and as Ivan fixed it, Alfred couldn't help but stare at his ass. Ivan still hadn't changed out of those thin pajamas yet. It was enticing, and Alfred could feel his face heat up once again. " Here you go." Ivan said, sitting the cup in front of Alfred. " Thanks."

" So, what time did you tell Matthew I'd be home, Natalia?" Alfred asked, and Natalia shrugged. " I told him whenever, though it'd probably be sometime later in the afternoon. Ivan gets lonely, and Katyusha and I have to drive over to Pasadena at twelve to get some kind of custom paint she ordered." She said, and Katyusha huffed. " The stores here didn't have the right color for the bathrooms, so I didn't have a choice!" She said, sitting a plate of food in front of Alfred. " How long will you be gone?" Alfred asked, eating a piece of bacon. Katyusha shrugged. " I don't know, it depends on traffic. It'll take about twenty minutes to get there, but I have no idea how long we'll be there." She said, and Alfred nodded.

" Wait, I don't get lonely that easily!" Ivan protested, and Natalia glared at him. " Whatever, Alfred's still staying here with you." She said, and sat down as Katyusha gave Ivan and her their food. " Natalia, be nicer. Alfred might have something to do today." She said, sitting down to her own plate. Alfred shook his head. " No, it's okay, it's Sunday. I don't do anything on Sundays." He said, shrugging. Katyusha sighed. " Well, alright." She said, and they all continued eating.

" Do you want to help me do the dishes again, Alfred?" Ivan asked, getting up once he was done. Alfred nodded, finishing his last piece of sausage, then stood up and brought his plate over to the sink. " So what should we do until you guys have to leave?" Alfred asked, washing the plates. " I was thinking we could just relax and watch TV, but if you'd like to do something else, that would be fine." Katyusha said, and Alfred shook his head, handing the washed dishes to Ivan, who in turn dried them and put them up. " No, that sounds good."

After Alfred and Ivan were done with the dishes, the four went and sat down in the living room, Katyusha turning the TV on. " And in todays news, international champion surfer Carlos Hernandez was injured-" " Turn it up!" Alfred said, concentrating on the TV. Katyusha raised an eyebrow, but turned the volume up. " I guess I didn't pay attention well enough, and the next thing I knew, I was flying off my board. The water was shallow, so I hit the bottom and broke my leg." Carlos was saying, and Alfred bit his lip. " So, how are you feeling now that you can't surf in this years Mavericks?" The reporter asked, looking slightly disappointed herself.

Carlos grimaced, then laughed lightly. " Well, I guess even someone like myself can get their luck upturned. I'm not too bothered, I just wish it would have happened after the Mavericks." He said, and Alfred growled loudly, making Katyusha and Ivan jump. Natalia just looked at him weirdly. " What is it, Alfred?" Katyusha asked, and Alfred put his head in his hands. " If Carlos is unable to compete in the Mavericks this year, they'll have to postpone the competition until they find another surfer to take his place." He explained. " Well, maybe you could volunteer." Ivan suggested, and Alfred immediately shook his head. " No. They need someone who's just as good as Carlos Hernandez to take his place. I don't think I'd ever be as good as him."

" That's not true, that day I watched you at the beach, I thought you were really good." Ivan said, and Alfred blushed. " W-well, 'really good' can't cut it." He said. " Then practice more, then get your ass down there before they call it off and surf in the competition." Natalia said, and Alfred frowned. " You guys really think I could do it...?" He asked, and all three nodded. " We believe you can /win/, Alfred!" Katyusha said excitedly, and Alfred beamed. " You're right... I'll just have to practice my ass off!" He said, and Ivan ruffled his hair. " That's great!" He said, and ALfred laughed awkwardly and leaned away, trying to hide his face.

After the news went off, Katyusha and Natalia decided they'd better go. " We'll be back sometime later." Katyusha called, pulling out of the driveway. Ivan waved until they were gone, then turned to Alfred. " So, what would you like to do to pass time?" He asked, and Alfred shrugged. " I don't know, I guess... I could have Arthur take us down to the beach for a few hours?" He suggested, and Ivan smiled. " That sounds like a good idea!" Alfred grinned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. " Hello?" Arthur picked up, sounding slightly annoyed. " Hey Arthur, can you come take me and Ivan to the beach?" Alfred asked, and Arthur grumbled something. " Can't you just walk?" He asked, and Alfred laughed. " Ha, walk two and a half miles? I don't think so! Please Arthur? We have nothing else to do."

Arthur sighed. " Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes. You're still at Ivan's, right?" He asked, and Alfred nodded, then remembering he was on the phone, said, " Yep! Thanks Arthur!" Then hung up. " Welp, Arthur's going to be here in a few minutes, so lets go get ready!" He said, and the two went back inside to put their swim shorts on.

~~~page break~~~

" So where are Natalia and Katyusha?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked over at Alfred, who shrugged. " Eh, shopping for some kind of paint over in Pasadena. They won't be home for a while, so Ivan and I figured we'd go down to the beach." He said. Arthur sighed, then continued driving. " You did bring sunscreen, correct?" He asked, and Ivan nodded in the backseat, holding up a small blue bag. " We have everything." He said, then Alfred chuckled at how Arthur was treating them like little kids. " Arthur, we have everything, jeez."

" I just want to make sure you don't get Ivan hurt, stupid." Arthur said, rolling his eyes. " You may not burn easily, but he will. He's nearly paler than I was when I came here, and I'm still getting burnt if I forget sunscreen." He continued, pulling off of the highway. After another ten minutes, Arthur stopped the car on the sand-dusted pavement at the top of the slight slope, letting the other two out. " Alfred, call me if anything happens." Arthur called, then drove away. Alfred just rolled his eyes and laughed. " Arthur sure is something. He acts like he hates your guts one minute, then the next minute he's acting like an over-protective mother. Anyway, lets go!" He yelled, running down the wooden steps to the sandy beachfront.

Ivan shook his head and ran after Alfred. Alfred took the bag from Ivan and pulled the large beach towel out and layed it down on the sand, then set the bag on top of it and pulled his shirt off. " You good with the sunscreen, or you need help?" He asked, and Ivan popped the top off of the sunscreen. " I'm good with everything except my back..." Ivan said, and Alfred willed his blush away as he took the bottle from Ivan and squeezed some out onto his hand. " Right..." He said, then rubbed his hands together and started rubbing the cream onto Ivan's back.

Alfred's mouth went dry and he had to swallow hard to keep himself focused. Ivan's skin was so soft, and so perfect, it made Alfred almost jealous. But more than jealousy, it made Alfred want to touch it more. It made him want to feel Ivan's body against his. It made him want to lick it, just to see what it tasted like. " Alfred..?" Ivan's voice brought Alfred out of his trance-like state, and Alfred blinked. " H-huh...?" " I said, I think it's rubbed in good enough. Do you need me to get yours?"

" Ah, n-no, I don't need sunscreen. My skin's used to the sun." Alfred said, mentally slapping himself for his voice breaking. " Well, finish up, then come meet me in the water!" He said, then ran off to the ocean. Ivan sighed at Alfred's childish behavior, then continued to apply sunscreen to his body. Once he was fully covered, Ivan put the sunscreen back in the bag and went down to join Alfred. The only problem was, he couldn't see him. " ... Alfred?" Ivan called out, hoping he didn't look like an idiot to the many other people in the water and dotted along the beach. " Alfred?"

Ivan walked out into the water to his waist, squinting, hoping to see Alfred somewhere among the other people, but he didn't see him. Ivan was just about to get panicked when a pair of hands grabbed his ankles and pulled him down into the water. He came back up spluttering and spitting out the disgusting sea water, and Alfred was right there beside of him, laughing his head off. " Aha, I really got you!" He laughed, and Ivan didn't know wether he should be mad or thankful Alfred didn't drown. " Alfred, you scared me! I couldn't find you, I thought you had drowned or something!" Ivan said, splashing the blonde. Alfred laughed and shrugged. " What kind of surfer would let himself drown?"

Ivan sighed. " I guess you're right." After that, the two started swimming leisurely.

" Hey Alfred, isn't your practicing spot on this beach?" Ivan asked after a while, and Alfred nodded. " Yeah, it's hidden by a bunch of rocks and trees and stuff, almost like a mini-jungle. Why, you wanna go there?" He asked, and Ivan smiled. " Yes, that would be fun!" The two went back up to the sand and gathered their things, then walked up to the pavement and started walking away from the pier. " How far is it?" Ivan asked, and Alfred shrugged. " Not too far, about a ten minutes walk down this way. We just can't walk there on the beach, or people will start following us, then my spot wouldn't really be 'my spot' anymore." He said, and the two continued walking in silence.

When they reached the foliage, Ivan noticed that this 'secret place' was hidden by the large rocks that extended out about 500 feet into the ocean water. The trees and rocks were extremely thick, preventing anyone from seeing behind them. Alfred looked around, then when nobody was looking, he pushed Ivan into the treeline, following after him. " Just walk straight, there should be a trail, even though it's probably only barely there." Alfred said, and Ivan nodded, walking straight, noticing that the ground was slightly more used there than the rest. After a minute, they came to the opening, and Alfred smiled at his little cove, having missed it in the few weeks he hadn't practiced.

Then he frowned.

" Oh, hello there, Alfred! I didn't expect you to be here." Sadiq called from the shoreline, a cocky grin on his face. " What the hell are you doing here, Sadiq?" Alfred growled, and Sadiq laughed. " Why, I'm here to surf, of course. This is the perfect spot to practice for the upcoming competition without being bothered, now isn't it?" Alfred didn't know if he should be shocked or pissed off. " So you're entering the Mavericks?" He asked, and Sadiq laughed. " Am I entering the Mavericks. No, Alfred, I'm just here to lay back and enjoy the scenery." He said, rolling his eyes. " Oh yeah, then where's your board?" Alfred asked.

" I sent Heracles back to our truck to get it. I wanted to be sure nobody found our little cove first. But, it looks like you and your buddy Ivan," Sadiq practically spit out the name, " Already did." Just then, two other people emerged from the treeline, one of them carrying a large surf board. " Ah, Heracles. There you are. Oh, hello Kiku, I didn't expect to ever see you here." Sadiq said, taking the board from the taller of the two, whom was apparently Heracles.

" I was on my way to the thread shop when I saw Heracles unloading your board, and I decided to come and say hello." The small, black-haired teen said. Alfred noted that he had a prominent Japanese accent. " Oh, and hello, Mr. Jones, Mr. Braginski." He said, bowing to the two who were still standing there in shock. " Oh, they were about to leave." Sadiq said, and Alfred scoffed. " As if! I'm not leaving, because I found this place a long time before you did! So I think it's you who needs to get lost!" He yelled, and Sadiq's grin turned into a frown. " I don't think you fully understand what I said..." He said, taking a few steps toward Alfred. " I said.. leave!" He growled, shoving Alfred back.

Heracles and Kiku blinked in shock, standing back away from the three. Ivan growled at Sadiq and grabbed his arm, pulling him close. The exchange student was still about an inch and a half taller than Ivan, but at that moment, he really didn't care. " Don't touch him!" Ivan growled, shoving Sadiq to the ground. Sadiq blinked in shock, then let out a yell and jumped up, clipping Ivan's chin in an uppercut. Ivan jumped back, his head ringing from the punch, then grunted in pain from a punch to the stomach. Before Alfred could do anything to Sadiq, Ivan was back upright, glaring daggers at him. " I don't care how powerful you think you are, Sadiq, I won't let you get away with laying a finger on me, or especially Alfred." Ivan growled, then punched the taller teen in the jaw, sending him back a foot.

Sadiq rolled his eyes, wiping the blood off of his chin. " Why? Did I hurt your precious little Alfred? Pfft. What are you, his boyfriend or something?" He asked, laughing. " So what if he is?" Alfred growled, " That still doesn't mean you're getting away with this." Sadiq snorted. " Two against one? That's not a fair fight. I thought tag-teaming someone was below you, Jones." He said, and Alfred shrugged. " When it comes to you, no matter what I do, I'll still have the upper hand. You're all talk and hardly no bite. You think you're so great, but I think we can put you in your place with a beating or two." He said, and Sadiq was quiet.

" Tch, whatever. Heracles, lets get out of here. These assholes aren't worth my time." Sadiq said, then walked back into the treeline, using his shoulder to shove Alfred one last time. Kiku stood there, a look of shock on his face. " I- I'm terribly sorry for that, I-" He started, but Alfred cut him off. " Nah, it wasn't your fault, you were just here at the wrong time." Kiku bowed, then ran off after Heracles and Sadiq. Alfred sighed heavily, then yelled incoherently and kicked a stray rock. " Alfred, what-" " That fucking asshole! The only goddamn reason he's practicing for the Mavericks is because he knows I'd want that spot!"

Ivan didn't know what to say to calm Alfred down, so he just let him take his anger out on the rocks, trees and sand. Until, that is, Ivan noticed blood on one of the rocks. " Alfred, I think that's enough-" " No, it's not enough! Nothing will ever be enough! God, I hate that stupid fuck!" Alfred yelled, his voice cracking from all the yelling. He went to punch another tree, but Ivan's hand stopped him. " Let me go, Ivan." Alfred growled, and Ivan shook his head, tightening his grip on Alfred's arm. " No, I won't let you injure yourself just because you're mad." He said, and Alfred made a growling noise in the back of his throat, but let his arm go limp. " Just because he said he was practicing for the competition, doesn't mean he's any good." Ivan said, keeping his grip on Alfred's arm as he let it fall to Alfred's side.

" It just means he wants to get you mad. He's looking for a fight, and if you ignore him, then he's not getting what he wants." Ivan continued, letting Alfred's arm go slowly. Alfred looked like he had calmed down, but as soon as his arm was free, he punched the tree in front of him as hard as he could. There was a sick crunching noise, and Alfred's yell of anger turned into a shout of pain. " Alfred!" Ivan turned the blonde around and grabbed his arm again, lifting it up to examine his hand. " You idiot, what did I tell you!?" Ivan yelled, getting blood all over his arm. Alfred couldn't help but let a few tears fall down his face in pain. " You broke a few knuckles, I can tell you that." Ivan growled, squeezing Alfred's arm tightly, making him cry out in pain again.

Ivan realized he was hurting Alfred and stopped, but he still held onto his arm. " Don't move your hand." He said, and Alfred nodded. Ivan reached into the bag and pulled Alfred's phone out, going through the contacts and finding Arthur's number, then dialing. " Hello?" Arthur picked up, and Ivan sighed. " Arthur, we have a problem." He said. " Ivan? Why didn't Alfred call me? What happened?" Arthur sounded panicked. " Sadiq happened. Then Alfred got mad, and I'm pretty sure he broke a knuckle or two." Ivan said, and Arthur was silent for a minute, then, " Where are you." " The small cove you used for practicing." Ivan said, and the line immediately went dead.

" W-what did he say...?" Alfred asked, his voice thick. Ivan put the phone back into the bag and looked at Alfred. His eyes were red and puffy, and there were tears rolling down his cheeks. Ivan never thought he'd ever see Alfred cry, but he was wrong. Even though it was only from pain, Ivan couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. " He's on his way." He said, reaching up with his other hand to wipe the tears away from Alfred's face. " It hurts..." Alfred said, leaning into Ivan's touch. He had tried to stop himself, but he just couldn't. Ivan let a small smile slip onto his face as he brushed his thumb across Alfred's cheek. " It's your own fault, Alfred..." He said, and Alfred let out a choked laugh. " I know." He said, then frowned. Ivan blinked. " What's wro-" He was cut off as Alfred leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

" Thank you..." Alfred whispered, and Ivan smiled, hugging him back. " For what?" " For standing up for me. As strong as I think I am... I probably couldn't have taken Sadiq by myself." Alfred said, pulling away from Ivan and wiping his eyes. " You're welcome... Sadiq had it coming." Ivan said, and Alfred was about to reply when Arthur burst through the trees. " Alfred!" He yelled, and glared at the blonde teen. " You fucking moron! Couldn't you have held your temper and not hurt yourself?" He growled, then looked around. " Why is there blood everywhere? Where's Sadiq? Alfred, explain to me exactly what happened before I break the rest of your bones." Arthur said, crossing his arms.

" We just came here and Sadiq was here. He started a fight, but ended up leaving, saying it wasn't worth it. Then..." Alfred trailed off. " Then what, Alfred?" Arthur demanded, and Alfred glared at his feet. " Then I got pissed, and started punching things..." He mumbled, and Ivan held out Alfred's hand, which he still had a hold on. " What the hell!?" Arthur yelled, and groaned as he pulled at his own hair. " Alfred... you honestly are the most idiotic person I've ever met." He said, and Alfred shrugged. " Sorry you met me then." He said, and Arthur just stared at him. Then he sighed. " Alfred, I may not like what you do half the time, but that doesn't mean I regret meeting you, you idiot."

" Maybe we should go to the hospital now?" Ivan suggested, and Alfred and Arthur nodded. " Yeah, that's a good idea."

~~~page break~~~

Needless to say, Matthew wasn't too happy with Alfred when he got home. " What the hell do you mean 'it's nothing'!? You broke your hand!" Matthew was yelling, and Alfred groaned. " I did not break my hand, Mattie! It's only two knuckles, just calm down!" " Why did you even go there in the first place? You don't practice anymore, so why-" " Ivan wanted to see it, and for your information, I'm gonna have to start practicing soon, because I'm entering the Mavericks!" Alfred said, cutting his brother off. Matthew laughed. " You? Enter the Mavericks? You're good, Alfred, but if you enter that competition you're going to look like an amature. Plus, news flash, you can't swim or paddle with a brace on your arm, so that means you can't practice to get better, either."

Alfred had never hated Matthew more than he did in that moment. " It'll get better in time. I'll get better in time, too. You need to stop shitting on my dreams, just like mom always did." Alfred said, then walked off to his room, slamming the door. Matthew blinked, then growled and ran his hands through his hair. " I'm an asshole..." He mumbled, then sighed and went to his bedroom.

Alfred layed on his bed, staring at the ceiling. " Stupid Matthew..." He grumbled, then sighed. It really wasn't his fault. He was just worried. But it really did feel like his entire family hated what he wanted to do with his career. He wanted to be like his dad, he wanted to be a professional surfer... but his mom had told him he couldn't. Alfred knew she meant no harm by it, she was just afraid to lose someone else the same way she lost her husband... but Alfred learned from peoples mistakes. He wouldn't let himself... ' Stop.' He told himself, sighing. Thinking about that was too hard.

After a while of just laying there, Alfred fell asleep, though his dreams were no better than his reality.


	14. 14

With the days in school dwindling and Alfred's knuckles healing, time seemed to slow down. He couldn't do what he wanted to do most, which was surfing, until his brace was taken off. Summer vacation started in exactly a month, and as always, everyone was excited. But, everyone knows that when you're excited for something in the future, it never gets here quick enough.

For Alfred, that excitement was pushed toward his healing hand and finding the courage to tell Ivan how he felt. For the past week, ever since that dreaded day on the beach, all Alfred could think about was the way Ivan hadn't pushed him away and had returned the hug. Even though his hand had been throbbing with pain, it had been amazing. He and Ivan had seemingly spent more time together the past week than ever before. Alfred would spend the night and ride to school with them in the mornings, then after school they'd all drop by the library to visit Matthew, he'd kick them out for being too loud, then they'd go back to Ivan's house and hang out. Alfred hadn't even contacted Arthur or Francis all week other than a few text messages. It seemed like a never-ending cycle.

Until that Saturday.

Rather than greeting Alfred with a smile and a cup of coffee like every morning, Ivan was nowhere to be found. Natalia had disappeared as well, and Katyusha was quiet, which was unlike her. " What's going on?" Alfred asked, and Katyusha jumped, as if she hadn't realized he had entered the kitchen. " Oh, Alfred... it's nothing, Ivan just... " She trailed off, and Alfred crossed his arms. " Kat, please tell me the truth..." He said, and Katyusha sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. " Ivan left this morning... he said he had to 'take care of some things'... he dropped his phone on the way out, so we don't know where he went or if he's okay, nothing..." She said. Alfred didn't say anything. On the inside, he felt panic and worry slowly building up with every frustrated breath Katyusha let out, but he played it cool on the outside.

" Where's his phone?" He asked, and Katyusha handed the phone across the table to the blonde. He flipped it open and struggled trying to find the messages, as it was in Russian. He made a little noise of triumph when he found them, then clicked on the last message that had been sent to the phone. It was from an unlabeled number, so he knew it wasn't anyone Ivan was friends with. Alfred's panic shot to the surface as he read the message, his heart pounding so loudly that he was sure Katyusha could hear it. " Kat, we have to go." He said quietly. " What are you-" " Kat, we have to go!" Alfred raised his voice, shoving the phone into her face.

' Ha, guess who, fuckface? You think you're so tough, standing up for your little boy toy, but I'd like to see just how tough you are without having to put on a show for him. Come to Marca Cliff. Y'know, my little cove place? Yeah, the cliff above it. If you don't show, trust me, you'll regret ever moving to this country.'

Katyusha jumped up, her eyes already watering. " Wha... who'd do this?" She cried, and Alfred shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed the car keys. " The same guy who's been causing trouble for me since the dawn of time." He said, pulling Katyusha out the door. " I hope you don't mind me driving. I'll try not to crash." Katyusha looked scared, but nodded as she got in the passengers seat and buckled up.

Alfred shoved the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the driveway, speeding down the road.

" How long has Ivan been gone." He demanded. " I don't know, about an hour..." Katyusha said. " That's just enough time for him to get there on foot." He said, turning a curb and nearly going up on two wheels. Katyusha gripped the arm rest tightly, her teeth clenched. " Maybe we should slow down-" " There's no time for that!" " We'll get there before they start fighting, we don't need to put our lives in danger!" Katyusha said, raising her voice.

" Katyusha, you don't understand! Sadiq is a ruthless asshole, sure he'll fight fair in front of a crowd, but get someone isolated and it's on! Do you know what he was put in jail for last year? He killed someone, Kat! It was the last fight he got into, and he had a gun! His dad bailed him out. His dad is a security guard. He has guns, Kat, and Sadiq can find them if he needs to!" Alfred yelled, the car finally skidding to a stop in front of the small expanse of trees. Katyusha had an unreadable expression on her face as Alfred jumped out of the car. " Stay here." He demanded, slamming the door.

" Alfred, be careful!" She called, but he was already out of earshot, pressing full-speed up the hill to the top of the cliff. He hoped to god that Sadiq had forgotten about a gun. He hoped to god that Ivan had somehow not gotten there yet. He hoped to god that Ivan was okay. As he reached the top, Alfred heard shouting. He hid behind a tree and listened.

" I don't know what you want with me!"

" You pissed me off. You're affiliated with Jones. Oh, and what a coincidence, you're one of the people Jones holds close to him! If you're out of the picture, that means he'll be devastated. He'll be too busy grieving that he'll forget about everything, and I'll finally have my title back!"

" You're serious? All this fuss over a stupid title? Aren't you the one who came second? Alfred was born here. You're an exchange student."

" I was the greatest person in my entire city back in Turkey. I came here because I was forced. I was in no way going to be under someone here. But Alfred was in the way. He's always been in the way! But now, I've gotten so fed up with it, I'm going to put an end to it."

" What are you-"

There was a click, and Alfred's heart stopped.

" Sadiq, put the gun down."

" No! I said, I'm putting an end to this!"

" Put the gun do-"

BAM

Alfred leapt out from the treeline and stopped dead in his tracks. " Ivan!" He screamed, running over to him. " Alfred, what are you doing here?" Ivan asked, holding a hand on his shoulder, where the bullet had hit. " Ohoho, lookie here! Alfred to the rescue, eh?" Sadiq snarled, a grin on his face. " Shut the fuck up! If you want to be 'head of the school' or some shit like that, fine! I don't need people hanging all over me anyway! There's literally no fucking need for anyone to die because of that, so put the gun down!" Alfred shouted.

Sadiq cocked the gun as his smirk dropped. " Don't give me that bullshit. You know that as long as you're here and happy, people flock to you like seagulls. I'm going to put an end to that, be it kill you, or someone you care for." He said, holding the gun out, his finger squeezing the trigger. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, there was a shout, and someone jumped on Sadiq's back. His finger slipped, and the gun fired, but at an angle. Ivan managed to jump in front of Alfred just in time for him to not get hit. " Ivan!" Ivan grimaced as blood trickled down his stomach from the bullet wound. Alfred grabbed him before he could fall to his knees, and nearly choked when Ivan coughed up blood.

" Ivan, please don't pass out, okay? I'll take you to the hospital after I'm done with Sadiq!" Alfred said, laying Ivan against a rock. He looked up just in time to see Sadiq kick the surprise attacker away from him. " Natalia!?" He said, bewildered. " Shut up and look out!" She yelled, and Alfred jumped to the side just in time to evade a punch to the face. " Fucking die!" Sadiq yelled, charging Alfred again. He blocked him by kicking out his leg and landing a blow to Sadiq's side, then jumped back. " Stop, Sadiq! You're not getting anything accomplished!" He yelled.

" Shut the fuck up, you stupid shitface!" Sadiq growled, reaching for his gun. He stopped when he realized that, after Natalia had jumped him, he'd dropped his gun. He glared when he realized it was between Alfred and Natalia, and he'd have to muster up a lot of energy to get it before they did. He jumped up and charged, zipping right past Alfred and toward the gun, but Alfred was smart. He jumped as Sadiq ran past him, landing on his back and slamming him into the ground. " Natalia, get the gun!" He said, and Natalia jumped up and ran to get the gun. After she had it in her possession, Alfred grabbed Sadiq's hair and slammed his face into the ground, then rolled off of him.

Sadiq got up and spit out a mouthful of bloody gravel, a tooth coming with it. " You fucking punks are dead." He growled, and he was about to get up when suddenly, four police officers rushed from the treeline. " Secure them!" One instructed, and two of them grabbed Alfred and Natalia while the others grabbed Sadiq. " What's going on up here?" One demanded, and Alfred was about to speak when Katyusha came from the treeline. " I called the police after I realized Ivan's phone had fallen out of your pocket in the car." She told Alfred. " My sister and Alfred are okay, please let them go." She said, and the two police officers looked at each other, then nodded and let them go, one of them taking the gun Natalia held.

" Now, explain what happened, or-" " Wait, we have to take Ivan to the hospital!" Alfred yelled, running to Ivan who was still propped up on the rock, albeit a little woozy from pain and blood loss. " I-Ivan!?" Katyusha whimpered, her hands flying to her mouth. " Page 911, Egbert, now." One of the officers said, and another nodded and pressed a button on his walkie-talkie.

" Now, we'll talk about the details after your friend is safe, but for now, who's the culprit that started this?" Alfred, Natalia and Katyusha all pointed at Sadiq, who had given up struggling in the officers' grip. " Alright, son, looks like you're coming with us. The rest of you, the paramedics will be here momentarily." With that, three of the officers left. One stayed behind to make sure nothing else happened until the ambulance arrived. By the time Ivan had been loaded into the ambulance and the doors had been shut, he had lost a lot of blood and was nearly in shock. Alfred sat there holding his hand as the paramedics shouted medical demands, or at least he thought that's what they were saying. He toned everything out until all he heard were muffled words and the seemingly surreal movement of the ambulance as they sped away.

Natalia and Katyusha drove behind them, barely keeping up. Alfred could make out the words 'losing blood' and 'might flatline' but he didn't understand the rest. When they arrived at the hospital, Alfred watched as they wheeled Ivan into the ER, Katyusha and Natalia coming up beside him. " Ivan..." Alfred said quietly, and suddenly, the realization of what just happened hit him hard in the chest. He couldn't stop his eyes from watering, and a broken sob left his chest. " Alfred?" Natalia started, but cut herself off when the blonde ran his hands through his hair and screamed. " This is all my fault!" He tried to rip his hair out, but Katyusha restrained his hands and wrapped her arms around his.

" Alfred, this is not your fault." She said, smoothing his hair down. " It is! If I hadn't had this stupid thing with Sadiq going on Ivan wouldn't be in the goddamn emergency room! It's all my fault, it... it's all m-my fault..." Alfred couldn't continue. His voice was too thick and he could barely breathe he was crying so hard. Katyusha helped him to the car and sat him in the backseat, sliding in after him. " Alfred, shhh. It's not your fault, I promise. If it's anyone's fault, it's Sadiq's." She said quietly, still hugging him. Natalia stood to the side, talking with one of the nurses that had come outside to inspect the situation when the ambulance had arrived. She looked over to Katyusha and Alfred, then followed the nurse inside to fill out a couple papers.

After what seemed like an eternity, Alfred's sobs turned into shivers and sniffles. He sat up and wiped the tear streaks off his cheeks, then sighed shakily. " I-I'm okay..." He said, and Katyusha smiled and fixed his hair. " I know you are. Lets go inside and see what's happened." She said, and Alfred nodded, following her inside. " Natalia, has anything happened?" Katyusha asked, and Natalia shook her head, walking over to them from her perch at the front desk. " No, nothing. I've been standing here waiting for nearly ten minutes now." She said.

" I hope he'll be alright..." Alfred mumbled, and Katyusha rubbed his arm. She was about to say something when a nurse came up to them. " Are you with a Mr. Braginsky?" He asked, and the three nodded. " He's just gotten out of the emergency room and moved to his own room. I thought you'd like to see him." He said, leading them down the hallway to a room. " He's still a bit loopy from the nitrous oxide, but he should be awake and coherent." He said, leaving them. Alfred sucked in a breath and opened the door, walking inside. Ivan was laying down on the bed, his head turned toward the window. " Ivan...?" Alfred said quietly. " ... Alfred?"

Alfred let a small smile grace his lips at the reply. " Hey, Ivan, how are you?" He asked, going to stand beside the bed. Ivan turned his head to look at the blonde. " I don't know, I just had two bullets extracted from my body and a shit-ton of strangers blood pumped in. I'd say I'm pretty good." Alfred laughed, his eyes starting to water again. " I'm glad you're okay, Ivan..." He said, reaching down to grab his hand. Ivan smiled up at him and squeezed his hand a bit, then looked toward his sisters. " Katyusha, Natalia..." He said, and Katyusha smiled widely. " I'm so glad you're alright..." She said, and Natalia nodded. " Yeah... glad you didn't die, Ivan." She said, and Ivan rolled his eyes.

" What about Sadiq?" He asked, and Alfred shrugged. " The police took him with them while we were still waiting on the ambulance." He said. Just as he said that, a nurse came in and told them that an officer was wanting to talk with them. " You stay here, we'll go talk to him." Natalia said, and Alfred nodded. When Natalia and Katyusha were gone, Alfred sat down in the chair beside of Ivan's bed and sighed. " I'm sorry I got you into this." He said. " What are you talking about, Alfred?" Ivan asked. " It's my fault you're here... you wouldn't be if Sadiq hadn't had that stupid grudge against me." Alfred mumbled. " Well, that's not your fault, it's his." Ivan said.

" But-" " Hush, Alfred." Ivan interrupted, and Alfred sighed again. " I'm still really sorry." " Hey Alfred, come here. I have something to tell you." Ivan said, and Alfred raised an eyebrow, leaning down. " What is it?" He asked curiously.

Ivan smiled warmly up at him and pulled him a little closer...

And kissed him.

Alfred could have sworn he thought his heart was going to stop completely. Ivan had kissed him. Ivan had kissed him. That meant... " Thank you." Ivan said quietly, letting Alfred go. " For being there for me. For everything, actually." Alfred blinked, then leaned back down, kissing him again. Ivan smiled against Alfred's lips, moving his hand to rest on his shoulder. " I like you, Ivan..." Alfred whispered, " A lot." Ivan's smile widened. " I like you a lot too, Alfred."


	15. 15

That Monday, word was out. Everyone at school was flocking Alfred, begging for details on Sadiq's arrest. He just brushed them off and tried to pay attention in his classes. Well, he tried to pay attention when he wasn't texting Ivan. Natalia had given him her phone so he could talk to Alfred, since his was confiscated for evidence in Sadiq's judge ruling. They'd talked about how long they'd liked each other, and just how it came to their realization that their lovey feelings were just that- lovey feelings. Alfred had to excuse himself once to go to the bathroom and recollect himself. He'd never blushed that hard in his life. Ivan had admitted to... /doing things/ while thinking of him... and the mere thought of it made Alfred's pants tighten slightly.

After school ended, Alfred immediately went to the hospital. He smiled and leaned down to kiss Ivan's forehead, smoothing his hair back. " Are you feeling better?" He asked, sitting beside of the bed. Ivan shrugged. " I'm not feeling any pain, but that's probably because of the morphine." He said. " yeah... so, heard anything about Sadiq?"

Ivan shook his head. " No, nothing. But I'm sure he won't be released." he said. Alfred sighed. " If he is put in jail, his dad will just bail him out again. He's got the money, don't know how, but he does." Ivan frowned. " You said that this will be his second offence of attempted murder... back in Russia, you were put in jail on your first offence. I'm sure that, no matter how different the US is from Russia, they wouldn't let anyone get bailed out on a second offence." He said. Alfred shrugged. " I don't know, stuff like that's always been boring for me so I never really pay attention. I just hope he'll get smart and not come after you again."

Ivan smiled. " It's really sweet that you're so worried about me, but you should be worried about yourself more. I can stand up for myself, and I'm not saying you can't, but you don't have particularly... original maneuvers. He'll catch onto what you're going to do if he comes after you again, and I don't want you getting hurt." He said, and Alfred felt a twinge of annoyance, but said nothing. " I guess you're right..." He mumbled, and Ivan chuckled. " I'm not saying you aren't completely original, Alfred, I'm just saying you're... predictable." He said, reaching up and poking Alfred's cheek.

Alfred couldn't help but smile, until he remembered what he had to do and groaned. " What is it?" Ivan asked, and Alfred sighed and heaved his bag onto his lap, pulling out his binder. " Homework. That's what it is. Gotta get it done, plus I was forced to bring yours by. You don't have to do it, though, it's basically the same as mine. I'll just copy it onto your- " " Ah, no, Alfred, that's okay. I can do my own homework, it shouldn't be too hard." Ivan interrupted, taking the textbook Alfred handed him.

" The way you said that almost makes me think you don't want me to do your homework..." Alfred muttered, and Ivan just shrugged and started filling out his math sheet. " I wouldn't put it that way..." He said. Alfred rolled his eyes, but let a small smile grace his lips as he started on his own homework.

~~~page break~~~

An hour had passed before either of them had realized it. Once they had finally finished everything that was needed to be done, Ivan sighed and leaned back against his bed. " You okay..?" Alfred asked, and Ivan nodded. " Yes, I just hate homework. Why don't you turn the TV on, if you plan on staying a while longer." He said, and Alfred nodded and stood up, turning the little TV on. He grinned as it came on already programmed on the surfing channel, and Ivan let out a breath of amusement. " Well well, looks like you won't have to channel surf then." He said, and Alfred only shrugged.

After a while of talking with the TV on low volume acting as background noise, Alfred paused and frowned. " What's wro-" " Hold up." Alfred interrupted, and turned the volume up on the TV. " - breaking news, the Mavericks surfing competition has been kicked back a few weeks, and will now take place on Friday, May 19th through Sunday, May 21st. We hope everyone will still be able to make it, and we have yet to find a replacement surfer for Carlos Hernandez. If no one is up-to-par by May 18th, the competition will be cancelled for this year."

Alfred let his jaw drop open in complete shock. " Alfred...?" Ivan asked, hesitant. He didn't reply. " Alfred, am I going to have to call a nurse in here?" Alfred drew in a breath, then let it out with a growl. " Damn it... I thought there'd be more time." He said. " What are you talking about?" Ivan asked. " I thought I'd have more time! I'm... I'm not good enough to surf in that competition." Alfred sighed and scratched at his head. " Alfred, listen. You may not think you're good enough, but you really haven't seen yourself in action. You're a great surfer, and the competition is seeing who can stay on their board the longest. It's not about all those fancy moves and things, even if they get you extra points." Ivan said, laying a hand on the blonde's shoulder. " Just go down there and show them what you got. And you should go now."

" Now? But what about you, I- " " I'll be fine here alone for a while, Alfred." Ivan interrupted, and Alfred bit his lip. " Right now?" " Right now."

~~~page break~~~

He couldn't believe he had actually went through with this. He just drove three and a half hours to Half Moon Bay just to fail. Alfred felt a couple stares on his back as he trudged toward the makeshift stage the volunteers had set up. He felt inadequate, small and dainty compared to some of these people. A few of the men looked like they were bodybuilders instead of surfers. There were already a few people at the stage, waiting for their chance to wow the judges. Alfred stood beside of a girl who was nearly taller than he was, then almost flinched when she looked over at him, a calculating look in her eyes. " You're Alfred Jones, right?" She asked.

" Yeah...? How'd you know my name?" Alfred asked, looking at the girl. " I'm Sadiq's sister." Oh. Fuck. " O-oh, you're Hera... I'm really sorry about your brother, please do-" " Stop. I'm not angry at you. I never wanted our father to get my brother out of prison in the first place. That is where Sadiq belongs, if you ask me." She said, her voice full of hatred. Alfred blinked. " You really don't like him, huh." He said. Hera shook her head. " I hate him. Once he was born, it was all 'Sadiq'. Our mother died because of our fathers ignorance." She said, and Alfred bit his lip. " I'm sorry." He said, and Hera shrugged. " It is in the past. But I still despise the both of them."

Just as Alfred was about to say something, the judges called Hera's name, and she padded off down the sand. Alfred took a deep breath and checked his phone for any messages. He let his lips curl up into a smile as he read the text from Matthew. ' Hey Alfred, I hope you make it! I'm sorry I couldn't have came with you, but I'm rooting for you, and so is Arthur and Francis. I love you!' He sent a quick one back that read, ' Thanks, Mattie, tell Arthur and Francis I said so too.'

" Alfred Jones?" A woman called, and Alfred blinked, putting his phone in his shirt pocket. " Yeah, that's me." He said, walking up to her. " Alright, well, we're ready when you are. You can leave your things here, I'll make sure they aren't misplaced." She said, and Alfred nodded, taking his shirt off and laying them on one of the bamboo posts that held up the rotting sand fence. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, then grabbed his board and started toward the water. It was still slightly cool, but Alfred welcomed the cold, as it gave him a rush of adrenaline as he balanced himself on his board and started paddling out into the deep.

On his way out, he heard a shout, and he turned to see Hera a few hundred feet away, waving to him. " Good luck, Alfred!" She called, and Alfred waved in acknowledgement, then continued out. Once he deemed it far enough, he stopped, then sat up. Waves rolled around him, but none of them were big enough. Only a few of them were even large enough to be called waves. He had five minutes. Five minutes to show the judges that he had what it takes to compete in the Mavericks. But he couldn't exactly do that without any waves. " What the fuck?" He muttered. There were just tons of waves before he came out, why would they stop now? Maybe it was just his bad luck kicking in.

Alfred had three minutes left when he finally spotted a big one. He grinned, and with a hard push against the water, he propelled himself forward. The wave got closer, as well as higher, and he stood up, balancing himself before cutting sharply to the right, along the bowl of the wave just as it got to him. He cut along the wave, riding from the lower end straight to the point where it was the highest. He could feel the clock counting down, and knowing he only had a little time left, Alfred decided it was high time to pull some stunts. He shifted his weight on the front of the board and cut up, breaking the crest and nearly coming completely out of the water. He felt gravity pulling him back down, so with another shift of his feet, he made a break down the bowl of the wave.

Just before it crashed, Alfred made it out the other end. He would have gone for another one, but once again, the water was void of anything other than small wave-like ripples of current. He heard a whistle, and groaned inwardly as he started paddling back to the beach. Once he got there, he ran a hand through his hair and walked up to the area where a small crowd had gathered. " Well, that looks like all the people who came today. Amazing how many turned up." The woman from before was saying. " I just hope there aren't as many the rest of the week." A man said, and Alfred sighed as he realized that his performance was probably the most boring.

He grabbed his shirt and was about to walk away when one of the judges said something. " Can we see Hera Adnon, Luca Edelstein and Alfred Jones?" He said, and Alfred blinked. He was confused, but walked back up to the judges anyway. A short boy, or at least he thought it was a boy, with long platinum hair stood beside of Hera, looking rather pleased. " Well, you three were the ones with the highest scores." The woman said, and Alfred's jaw dropped open. " Whoa, hold up, how did I make one of the highest scores?" He asked, " I only made one wave..."

" You may have only got one wave, but you were pretty damn good." The man said, and Alfred let a smile spread across his face. He couldn't help it. It felt nice to have someone say you were good at what you loved doing. " Okay, well, you guys just put your numbers beside your names on here, and we'll call you if anything happens. If you don't receive a call by Thursday, well... we loved that you had the guts to show us your stuff." He said, and handed Alfred a clipboard. He wrote his cell number out beside of his name, then handed the clipboard to Hera. " Well, I should probably be heading back. I have a long drive. I'll see you around, Hera." He said, smiling at her.

" Yes, goodbye Alfred." Hera said, smiling back at him. Alfred grabbed his shirt and board then hiked back to Matthew's car, grabbing the towel out of the backseat to dry himself off with. He was lucky his brother had even allowed him to use his car. The least he could do was make sure it stayed clean and dry. He laid the towel out on the drivers seat so his shorts wouldn't get the upholstery wet, then hopped in, buckled up and drove off.

Yes, it probably would have been a better idea to just stay overnight at one of the many hotels around Half Moon Bay, seeing as it was nearly seven o'clock, but he honestly couldn't afford to. That, and he wanted to get back to Ivan to see if he was any better. Alfred shook his head. " Of course he's getting better." He grumbled to himself, " It was just a bullet wound to the shoulder... it shouldn't take that long to heal." Then again, it could get infected... ' Nah, the hospital would never let that happen.' He thought, turning the radio on to make his drive less boring.

~~~page break~~~

By the time Alfred got home, it was almost eleven. Of course there had to be a damn traffic jam on the way back, so he was delayed nearly fourty-five minutes in getting back to Los Angeles. He nearly tripped in his haste to get to his and Matthew's apartment, then scared the shit out of said male when he slammed the door open. " Alfred, damn it! Why do you have to be so loud!?" Matthew yelled, and Alfred laughed. " Sorry, Mattie, I just wanted to get in the door as fast as possible." He said, and Matthew grumbled incoherently, settling back down on the couch.

" So, how'd it go?" He asked, and Alfred shut the door, walking to sit beside of his brother. " I was one of the top three. They said they'll call if anything happens, and if I don't get a call by Thursday, I didn't make it." He said, and Matthew smiled. " That's great Alfred!" He said, leaning over to give the older blonde a hug. Alfred smiled and pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket, looking to see if anyone had texted him. There was one missed message from Natalia, though it was most likely Ivan. ' So, have you left yet?' It read. Alfred decided to send a quick text back before he went to bed. ' Yeah, I'm at home now. I made one of top three, and they'll call if I get in.' He typed, then sent it and sighed. " Well, Mattie, I'm gonna head to bed. I'm tired as fuck, and we still have school tomorrow." He said, and Matthew nodded. " Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He said, and headed down the hall and into his bedroom.

Alfred stood and stretched, then headed to his bedroom. As soon as he shut the door, his phone beeped. He frowned, looking at the message. ' Oh, that's good. How did it go?' Alfred pursed his lips as he typed back. ' They'll call me if I make it. Shouldn't you be asleep, Ivan?' He stripped, then laid down, waiting for a reply. ' Yes, but I wanted to wait so I could talk to you first.' Alfred sighed lightly and smiled. ' But you just saw me before I left.' He said, yawning as he sent the message.

The next one Ivan sent made Alfred's cheeks heat up. ' I know... I just wanted to tell you how much I miss you... and want to kiss you again.' The blonde hesitated, then typed, ' Yeah, I wanna kiss you too, Ivan.' He sent it before he could stop himself, wondering if Ivan would text him back. The next message seemed to take longer to receive. ' Well, we can do that tomorrow. I should get to sleep, good night Alfred.' Alfred let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. ' Yeah, night Ivan. See you tomorrow.' After he sent it, he cut his phone off and laid down, pulling his covers up to his chin and settling down, drifting off into a deep sleep.

 

Note: Hera is Fem!Turkey and Luca Edelstein is Kugelmugel.


End file.
